R.I.P. Shawna Trpcic, costume designer for The Mandalorian and Firefly

Shawna Trpcic has died. A prolific costume designer, Trpcic was most prominent in the realm of genre TV, where she provided the looks for ambitious space-set series like Firefly and recent Star Wars entries Ahsoka, The Mandalorian, and The Book Of Boba Fett. A recent Emmy winner for her work on The Mandalorian, Trpcic has received numerous tributes this weekend from the Star Wars community, with producer and director Jon Favreau writing in a post for the official Star Wars site that, “Her creativity brought this world to life.” Trpcic’s death was confirmed on Friday by the Costume Designer’s Guild. She was 56.

A California native, Trpcic worked, in the early portions of her career, in the costume department of films like What Lies Beneath and Barry Levinson’s Toys. But her primary arena, even early on, was television, including a long early stint as costume designer for Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. Her first major burst of attention came in 2002, when she was hired as assistant to costume designer Jill Ohanneson for the pilot of Joss Whedon’s space Western Firefly; when Ohanneson was unable to sign on for the full series, she recommended Trpcic for the job. The result was some of the most memorable costumes in 2000s-era television, as Trpcic emphasized the show’s deliberate blending of Western and Eastern aesthetics to create the looks for each of the show’s characters—including doing design work on the iconic “Browncoats” that would help define the series’ identity for decades to come.

Firefly kicked off a long collaboration between Trpcic and Whedon; she would ultimately design costumes for several of his TV shows (including the last two seasons of Angel, and all of Dollhouse), as well as films The Cabin In The Woods and Much Ado About Nothing. She also continued to spread out into other major sci-fi projects, including serving as designer on Torchwood miniseries Miracle Day, and short-lived superhero series Powers.

A life-long Star Wars fan, Trpcic joined The Mandalorian in its second season, working to flesh out the look of its faux-Western take on the Star Wars universe. Writing about her today, series writer and producer Dave Filoni said that,

Shawna had a deep love and appreciation for Star Wars. You can see that in every piece of work she did with us. She loved everything about being a part of these stories, including connecting with fans and being a part of that community. I feel like she has always been a part of Star Wars. Her costumes tell a story, providing the suggestion of a life experience that happened before the cameras rolled. I loved collaborating with Shawna, and I will miss her presence.

Trpcic quickly became the go-to costume designer for Disney+’s Star Wars series, having come back to work on The Book Of Boba Fett—where she did updates and re-designs for the title character’s iconic armor—and the recent Ahsoka, building on her work on the character’s first live-action appearance in Mandalorian. She was also a regular at the Star Wars Celebration conventions, where she would often take the time to serve as a judge for the official cosplay contests.

Per Variety, Trpcic is survived by her two children. A GoFundMe has been set up to support them in the aftermath of her death.