Project Runway: Style Wars

But there can only be one Yoda, and the designers are all eager to connect the dots between Jedi Master Yoda and their unflinching mentor on the show -- Tim Gunn. Viewers of the series know Gunn not only as the Chair of the Department of Fashion Design at Parsons The New School for Design, but also as a trusted critic who helps the designers find a clear vision and then "make it work" during each fashion challenge.

"Tim's voice and the wise mentoring remind me a bit of Yoda," Vosovic says. "You can really draw so many correlations between those two."

"Oh, absolutely, the similarities are overwhelming," Gonzalo agrees. "So maybe it's easier to look at the ways that Tim Gunn and Yoda are dissimilar. To begin, Tim Gunn is much taller than Yoda, and three times as chic. And try as he might, it would be impossible for Yoda to find his signature look at Banana Republic."

Star Wars comparisons aside, it's easy to understand why these designers often find fashion inspiration in the films they love. "I do get inspired quite a bit by film moments or the mood, rather than an entire film," Vosovic explains. "For example, I love the moment in Hannibal where Julianne Moore wakes up and stumbles downstairs wearing this perfect dress and these Gucci sandals -- it's that moment that would inspire me. For me, fashion inspiration can come from anywhere."

"I have always loved the costumes from Star Wars because they have always impressed me as real, functional garments as well as garments which spoke very specifically of the time in which they are supposed to exist," Gonzalo says. "You know that 'futuristic' costume design is good, when you sense that you'd be easily able to take the costumes off in order to go to the bathroom. You definitely get that feeling in Star Wars."

"Of course, Star Wars has influenced me a great deal," Franco says. "I love the armor in the original trilogy to no end. You'll find a direct influence of the stormtrooper armor inherent in my looks for Nike on my site."

"When actors are asked at which moment their characters finally click for them, they always say it's when they try on the costume," Franco says. "That is proof right there how integral designers are to film. There should be more awards given to costume designers -- one for contemporary, futuristic, and period pieces. I adore costume designer Trisha Biggar's work on Star Wars. Actually she renders my previous statement moot as her clothes incorporate the contemporary, futuristic and period all in one new abstracted look!"

"Inspiration comes from many places and films are certainly part of that," Baltazar agrees. "I was lucky to get a friend to take me to The Jim Henson Studios' workshop and I was blown away. As a fan of sci-fi films, I always get a kick to see what designers come-up with when making an outfit for a non-human body. I also admire Jean Paul Gaultier's approach to costume design, like on the movie The Fifth Element."

"I recently attended a fashion show produced by my Alma madder FIDM," Baltazar continues. "They show cased a section of Star Wars fashions and WOW! They're amazing upfront. The films only show 70% of the detail work that go on to some garments. They're simply beautiful."

"Costume designers make the characters as well as the context believable," Janx explains. "It is so instrumental in bringing to life -- the essence of the character as well as the film. It also adds amazing dimension to a film as a whole."

Vosovic agrees, "Costumes are as important to a picture as the music or the cinematography itself. It all contributes to the final product, and you just can't have one without the other. I think Trisha Biggar works so hard because of the magnitude of costumes she has to create for all the different characters, that it's such a broad range of fashion. And she should be acknowledged for it. In fact, one day I would love to design costumes. Films inspire me so much, and I've done some short films, so costume design is something I would love to try whether it's everyday wearable pieces or Queen Amidala-type outfits. Films allow for such a range of fashion that it's definitely on my To Do list for my career."

Visit the official "Project Runway" site for more information on the show including video clips, blogs, audio messages and designer image galleries.

Discover more about costume designer Trisha Biggar and her work on Episode III, in the Hyperspace web documentary, "Epic Designs for an Expanding Universe"

To learn more about each of the designers interviewed, click their names to visit each of their official sites: Andrae Gonzalo, Daniel Vosovic, Kara Janx, Diana Eng, Raymundo Baltazar and Daniel Franco.

Stay tuned to Star Wars Rocks for more interviews from some of your favorite celebrities and bands.