The jubilation dress was a traditional outfit worn by queens and other female high officials of the Naboo people during times of rejoicing or upon first meeting a dignitary. It consisted of a white dress decorated with the Symbol of the Royal House of Naboo, a cape covered in layers of veils, and an organza net stitched with flowers that stretched behind the head.
Queen Padmé Amidala of Naboo famously wore the jubilation dress at the parade celebrating the Battle of Naboo which had ended the Trade Federation's invasion of the planet, an event which led to the creation of artwork depicting her in the outfit. A later queen, Dalné, lent the dress to Amidala's biological daughter, Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, to wear to meet Imperial Moff Quarsh Panaka.
The jubilation dress was primarily white and had a front panel decorated with the Symbol of the Royal House of Naboo. The sleeveless garment was worn with white opera sleeves, accompanied by a cape covered in layers of pale pink and yellow veils, and an ivory organza net with a hand-stitched floral pattern that stretched behind the head like a ruff.
The traditional dress was worn by female Naboo high officials, including queens, at times of rejoicing or upon first meeting a dignitary. When worn during negotiations, it signaled an expectation of a successful outcome. Symbolically, the attire symbolized Naboo's emergence from darkness. The veils on the cape resembled the petals of certain flowers that grew on the planet Naboo in the hometown of Queen Padmé Amidala. The flowers signified joy and bloomed every eighty-eight years. The net framed the wearer's face like a halo and represented the continuity of Naboo society.
A painting of Amidala wearing the jubilation dress.
In 32 BBY, Queen Amidala wore the jubilation dress and a silver tiara at the parade celebrating the liberation of Naboo from the Trade Federation's occupation. Her handmaidens wore layered outfits that coordinated with the jubilation dress without distracting from it. By the time of the Clone Wars, a painting of Amidala wearing the jubilation dress and holding a peko-peko hung on a wall in the Theed Royal Palace.
In 3 BBY, the jubilation dress had become part of the royal wardrobe of Queen Dalné of Naboo in the secondary royal palace on Onoam, one of Naboo's moons. After Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan and Dalné inspected a mine on Onoam, Organa wished to visit Imperial Moff Quarsh Panaka to discuss the miners' working conditions. Since the only outfit Organa had brought along was dirty, Dalné loaned the jubilation dress to the princess, although Organa declined her offer of an accompanying headdress. Organa thought it was too fancy, but Dalné said it was appropriate and the simplest dress she had.
Unbeknownst to herself, Organa was in fact the biological daughter of the long-dead Amidala, and the borrowed dress accentuated her resemblance to her mother so much that Panaka—once Amidala's Chief of Security during her time as queen—immediately recognized it. Her answers to questions about her history confirmed his suspicion that she was indeed Amidala's daughter. Panaka intended to inform Emperor Palpatine of his discovery, but was assassinated by the Partisans in an explosion just after his meeting with Organa. Organa was injured and the jubilation dress was dirtied when the blast threw her.
Organa returned home still wearing the dress, where her attendant droid WA-2V fell in love with it. The princess was annoyed, while the droid claimed that the jubilation dress was the most beautiful thing Organa had ever worn. WA-2V was disappointed that the dress had to be returned to Dalné, but cheered herself up by noting that they at least had "a wonderful example to draw from" for the princess' wardrobe. Leia cared very little about the dress, however, and simply asked WA-2V where her parents were.
A mural depicting Amidala wearing the dress during the parade celebrating the liberation of Naboo was eventually made as a tribute to the alliance Amidala formed in the wake of the Trade Federation's invasion. Around 3 ABY, Darth Vader, formerly known as Anakin Skywalker and Amidala's husband, found the mural and destroyed it using his lightsaber in a fit of anger triggered by Amidala's former handmaiden Sabé.
The jubilation dress was created for the 1999 prequel trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. The finished costume was created by costume designer Trisha Biggar and her department. The dress was first identified in the 2017 young-adult novel Leia, Princess of Alderaan, written by Claudia Gray for Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In the Star Wars Legends continuity, the outfit was identified as the parade gown in Star Wars: Episode I The Visual Dictionary, written by David West Reynolds.
- Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
- Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition