Luke Skywalker meets London Fashion. A 3D printed Star Wars prosthetic developed by Open Bionics brings futuristic flair and function.

Fashion Finds the Force was a Star Wars-centric project that got ten UK designers to create their own Star Wars-inspired pieces, and donate them to a charity auction. While the show ends today, there is no way we can ignore the amazing 3D printed bionic arm printed by Open Bionics.

Little is more iconic than the image of Luke Skywalker losing his hand to Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back. The importance of that moment does not end simply at the end of the original trilogy. It extends into the new story, into Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which will hit theaters this month.

Open Bionics is already known for their Star Wars fashion. They’ve been through Disney’s accelerator program, creating 3D printed bionic hands (primarily for kids) in the fashion style of Star Wars, Marvel’s Iron Man and Disney’s Frozen.

Matthew Drinkwater, head of the Fashion Innovation Agency at London College of Fashion, noted that bringing Open Bionics on board seemed obvious. What would a Star Wars project be without a shout-out to technology?

They wanted to create a prosthetic that communicated the “jump to hyperspace.” The hand is embedded with 24 LED lights that are programmable in different patterns and colors. It also accompanies a futuristic jumpsuit embedded with 10,000 Swarovski crystals.

While the jumpsuit does slightly look like it was a futurist conception designed, in fact in the 70s or 80s, the prosthetic is truly remarkable. It creates a Star Wars-reminiscient, yet intriguingly new style. Printed in about 48 hours, it may also open up possibilities to those who wear prosthetics in the future.

Drinkwater also eludes to the original Luke Skywalker prosthetic arm:

“It felt so incredibly futuristic at the time, but it’s here with us now. We have to think about what that means for the industry and so many people across the world.”

In the end, the team definitely achieved their goal of making the iconic lost limb futuristic, once more. This 3D Printed Star Wars Prosthetic ignites the curiosity much more than expected.

(Via: Forbes)