Star Wars took over Phoenix Raceway to celebrate Columbia’s Skywalker Pilot Collection

By Jenna Clark

The Skywalker Pilot Collection officially launches on Dec. 1, 2023, and although this will be Columbia’s eighth Star Wars collection, it will be the biggest (consisting of nine pieces) and most size-inclusive to date, with some pieces available in 6X.

The Skywalker Pilot Collection

Many of the collection’s pieces also contain Easter Eggs, which hardcore fans will recognize. To hone in on the details of this collection, Columbia’s research and design team studied Luke Skywalker’s original costume, vehicle schematics, and Star Wars artwork made by Ralph McQuarrie.

The collection includes:

• The Skywalker Pilot Ski Suit – Aurebesh messaging and R2-D2 and T-65 X-wing Starfighter hidden graphics
• The Skywalker Pilot Ski Jacket – Aurebesh messaging and R2-D2 and T-65 X-wing Starfighter hidden graphics
• The Skywalker Pilot Snow Goggle – Aurebesh messaging and details inspired by Luke Skywalker’s helmet 
• The Skywalker Pilot Lightweight Jacket – T-47 Airspeeder/Snowspeeder graphics and Aurebesh messaging
• The Skywalker Pilot Pullover -T-65 X-wing Starfighter or T-47 Airspeeder/Snowspeeder graphics and Aurebesh messaging
• The Skywalker Pilot Long-Sleeve Shirt – Star Wars concept art
• The Skywalker Pilot Short-Sleeve Shirt – T-65 X-wing Starfighter or T-47 Airspeeder/Snowspeeder, insignia inspired by Luke Skywalker’s helmet, and Aurebesh messaging
• The Skywalker Pilot Crossbody Bag – Logo patches, Aurebesh messaging, and an emblem inspired by the insignia on Luke Skywalker’s helmet
• The Skywalker Pilot Ball Cap – Rebel patch, emblem inspired by the insignia on Luke Skywalker’s helmet, and Aurebesh messaging

The collection will be available online on Columbia’s website at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 1, 2023, and in various stores nationwide after that date, including the Columbia location at Disney Springs, which will have all the collection pieces, excluding the online exclusive Skywalker Pilot Ski Suit.

Star Wars Collaboration with NASCAR 

To help promote the launch of The Skywalker Pilot collection, Columbia teamed up with NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace to create a custom Star Wars-designed wrap for the car he drove at the NASCAR Cup Series Championship on Nov. 5, 2023.

On the day of the Qualifying Race, the other trip attendees saw the specialty-designed car while a representative explained the processes of bringing the wrap to life and its unique elements.

“We took a lot of time to make sure those panel lines wrapped up over the hood properly,” said Columbia designer Chris Araujo. “Of course, we had to have the iconic red stripe. These were rebel pilots, and they didn’t have a lot of money, so you’ll see this throughout the Star Warsseries where none of the panels match perfectly cause you can imagine they were repairing things, so we wanted to bring that to life as well as we shifted some of the colors of the panels so they also looked like they weren’t just a unified gray.”

After seeing the specialty-designed wrap on a prototype of Wallace’s car, I had the opportunity to meet and hear Wallace speak about his love of Star Wars and work with Mark Hamill on a video for The Skywalker Pilot Collection ahead of the Qualifying Race. During our group Q&A session, Wallace said he recently watched the first Star Wars for the first time with his wife and quickly figured out what the hype was all about.

“When we [Wallace and Hamill] were doing ‘the force will always be with you’ scene, I kind of felt that, and it was cool, and I got the chills,” he said.

Star Wars Characters at NASCAR Cup Series Championship

As a special treat for guests at the NASCAR Cup Series Championship, Columbia brought R2-D2 and Stormtroopers to take photos with guests before the race with prototypes of the Star Wars-wrapped cars, with R2-D2 meeting guests in front of car #23 (Bubba Wallace), and the Stormtroopers in front of car #45 (Tyler Reddick).

One of The Skywalker Pilot Ski Suits signed by Wallace and Hamill was also on display between the two cars, which was pretty cool to see.

The NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race

Although watching the Qualifying Race was a wonderful experience, I was most looking forward to seeing all the cars racing side by side on the track.

It was cool to see the Columbia-sponsored Star Wars-wrapped car, and although Wallace didn’t win the race, it was a memorable experience to see all the cars make their way around the track 300 times.

Overall Thoughts

I am excited about The Skywalker Pilot Collection dropping on Dec. 1, 2023. I was gifted with The Skywalker Pilot Short-Sleeve Shirt and Ball Cap and found both pieces fashionable and comfortable. I’m looking forward to Star Wars fans seeing the entire collection in a couple of weeks.

Click here for details about Columbia’s Skywalker Pilot Collection.