burgundy squadron

Burgundy Squadron is a Lucasfilm recognized, original character costume club established in February of 2023.

We focus on unique denizen builds that may fall outside of other costuming groups. The group was created out of a need for a costume club for secondary and background original characters. They didn't have a home so we built that house. This is where background characters become heroes.

We are unique as a club because we have a strong emphasis on storytelling. The "Burgundy Squadron" is an OC itself. The group is a "technically unsanctioned" cell of rebel leaning activists spread throughout the galaxy infiltrating all aspects of life. Our origins date back to the proto-Rebellion, before the Alliance was formalized, and the Squadron continues their movements through the New Republic era.

The inspiration for the club came from the Axis Network of operatives Luthen Rael was building. The best example of our mythos is the Aldhani heist crew in Andor season 1; their lives, motivations, affiliations, ideals, differences and complexity are what we strive for in our characters. They are a mix of rebels, thieves and saboteurs who have complex double lives and checkered pasts. They are ultimately "good" at their core and aren't afraid to do "good" by any means necessary. That is the narrative drive for the members of Burgundy Squadron.

We are Rebels. We are spies. We are everyone and no one.

This is a group meant for everyday denizens making their way across the galaxy.

We house spies, merchants, arms dealers, partisans, aliens, imperial defectors, ex-syndicate, saboteurs, mechanics, rogues, scoundrels, thieves, rebels, freedom fighters, workers, racers, musicians, teachers, maintenance staff, everyday denizens, and everything in between.

We are open to your creativity as long as it is in-universe and mitigates against “kitchen sink-ism.” A character with too many mixed attributes in their costume or backstory would be flagged by the app team. The best applications are for characters that are focused and clear in their motivations/look. 

As this is a denizen group, we are not accepting jedi, force users, lightsaber wielders or Mandalorians of any kind. For approval, these traits cannot be present in backstories either. If your character "used to be a Mandalorian" but isn't anymore or "was trained by jedi but isn't a jedi" that would not be approvable. However, if you would like to develop an armored bounty hunter character of another sort outside of a traditional Mandalorian look, for instance, a member of the Haxion Brood or other criminal syndicate that has turned rebel, that would clearly be the right direction.

All submissions are subject to approval from our application team.

We firmly stick to the tenets of the Star Wars visual language with a goal for costumes and characters that are "set-ready".

We're looking for finished costumes with appropriate props, details, and weathering. Ultimately, wouldn't it be amazing to be called upon when a production needs to fill a crowd scene?

Like in the films, we understand that sometimes concessions need to be made to accommodate for fit, comfort, or need. For instance, while the errant and discrete zipper or button might pass, if it can be avoided or covered, we strongly suggest you go that route as it will be mentioned in your application review. Same goes for any footwear/boots with laces that are not covered. The best place to get advice when building your character is our discord. Please join us there or get in contact by email should you have any questions about a specific part of your costume.

Unfortunately, we will not accept any mashup costumes, any "what if" costumes, any in-progress costumes, anything referencing other fandoms, anything too "earthly" in design or anything the feels like a "bound." If it wouldn't fit on screen, it's not going to fit here. Your costume should clearly reflect the type of character you are.

Our aim is to have characters that can communicate their backstory and intentions visually, like in the movies/shows. If your costume feels too mashed up, busy, mismatched and all over the place; that will prevent approval.

Requirements to become an official member are as follows:

1. A finished, unique, and visually focused costume exploring the more denizen aspects of the Star Wars galaxy.

We'd love to have all denizen types and species join. We believe, and encourage, characters can have changes of clothes, whether a signature costume and an alternate when trying to evade capture or a "double life" outfit, etc. NOTE: Once approved, any major changes to the core look of your character would need to be re-reviewed by the app team as if it was a new membership application.

2. A well thought out character backstory detailing your involvement with the rebellion/resistance or how the empire/first order has negatively impacted you.

Make the story feel grounded and make your character’s motivations feel believable. There is no requirement for length as long as you communicate your story. You don't have to reference the Squadron in your backstory but are free to do so if you like. While certain story details can slightly change over time, any major changes to the core of your character would need to be re-reviewed by the app team. NOTE: We recommend steering away from including main character interactions in your story as that may stray too far into "fan-fic" territory and will prevent approval. Also, we appreciate that Galaxy's Edge and The Galactic Starcruiser are very impactful but any backstories that solely focus on a 2 day experience will be heavily scrutinized. We want characters with full lives, realistic motivations and ideals beyond just a Disney Park experience.

For approval, we'll need pictures of you wearing your finished costume, front/back/sides for the purpose of knowing everything you have on makes sense to your character. Keep the phrase "set-ready" in mind when building your costume. Feedback can and will be given by our app team at this point before approval. Also, we will need a "hero shot" of your costume as part of the application to later post in the Burgundy Squadron Instagram as your "new member announcement" once approved. Think of your hero shot as, if there was a "The Art of Burgundy Squadron" book, what would you want to look like? Be as creative as you want for this. Send as many shots as you'd like. We'll pick one for the announcement and save some to post later down the line as well. We do not accept ai generated images of any kind. Credit, tagging and a collaboration request will always roll out with posts of your images. Please let us know if we should include any photographer credits. In your email please let us know what city you are in so that we may sort you into your region for LucasFilm events. Your backstory can be as long as you'd like but please also provide a shortened version of your backstory if it is a long story as Instagram has a 2000 character count limit. We do not accept ai generated writing of any kind.

Once approved you will receive your call sign number, an announcement post on instagram will go up shortly after, and you will be added to the roster page of the website. Please keep news about being accepted under wraps until you have been announced on instagram.

Email BurgundySquadron@gmail.com to submit your pictures/backstory for app team review. We are always available for any questions on the above so feel free to email us before you start your submission or join us on discord.

Approved Members: Please join our discord as this is how we communicate important news, member only merchandise, meet ups, and LucasFilm events we are invited to.

Multiple characters: We are now accepting the submission of multiple characters. In most cases, this will be the advised route if your character has too many mixed traits and attributes or if you want to build an entirely new character. If approved, your new character will be assigned their own number.

Alternate costumes for approved characters: We are excited to announce official members now have the option to submit alternate costumes for their approved characters. For example, you could have a winter version of your character’s costume which would be swiftly approved as long as it isn’t a huge departure from your original look.

Official members also have the ability to experiment with one-off or characters/costumes still in development while representing Burgundy Squadron. For example, if you submit a masked alien costume but wish to attend an event with your costume without the mask, that is now completely acceptable. Please contact the application team to have your alternate costume and/or your character/costume still in development cleared to attend Lucasfilm events while representing Burgundy Squadron.

Changing your approved character: If you would ever want to completely overhaul and update your approved character, open up that discussion with our app team by emailing BurgundySquadron@gmail.com. We are totally open to that as long as it still adheres to the membership requirements. Once approved, we would need updated photos to change our official roster images.

Posting on socials: This should go without saying, go nuts on insta or the parks! Experiment! Have fun! Play! Any of these regulations only apply to the approved characters you submit and their looks/backstories when you are representing them in any official capacity. Whatever you post on insta regarding any other kind of costuming or bounding is totally your business and your space to use as you wish. Even if you go to Galaxy's Edge and decide to wear a lightsaber with you, have fun! We've all done it and that falls squarely outside of the movements of this Squadron. You only need to stick to your look and story in group collaborations, official duties/conventions connected to the Squadron, and LucasFilm events.

The Burgundy Squadron Emblem: was designed by and is the intellectual property of billi Maddox. Reproductions of the Burgundy Squadron emblem are prohibited. Any and all use must be authorized and cleared beforehand whether you are an approved member or not. No exceptions.