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 story goes the group at large is decentralized; unsanctioned rebel cells with a common goal who operate outside of the confines and traps of Alliance bureaucracy. Our origins date back to the proto-Rebellion, well before the Rebel Alliance was formalized, and Burgundy Squadron continues their clandestine movements through the New Republic era.

These decentralized networks can act independently but will collaborate on intel. Our cover is we are everyone and no one. Our true numbers are unknown and our margins are not fixed. Which is why we are comprised of all walks of galactic life throughout the galaxy. Maintenence workers, merchants, behind the bar at a cantina, a traveling musician, smugglers and long haulers, code breakers, slicers, and even Rebel Alliance personnel tired of inaction when faced with actionable intel.

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 "was trained by jedi but isn't a jedi" or "used to be a Mandalorian but gave up his armor" that would not be approvable. However, if you would like to develop an armored bounty hunter character of another kind outside of a traditional Mandalorian look, for instance, a member of the Haxion Brood or another criminal syndicate that has turned to the rebellion, that would 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".

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

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. 

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 in canon, 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.

Figure out who your character is, as a person, and it will unlock how they react in any situation.

Writing a backstory for your character can be one of the hardest tasks so while it is a requirement, we don’t expect anyone to produce perfect literary prose. If you need to keep it simple to make the story feel grounded and make your character’s motivations feel believable, go for it.

Long doesn't necessarily mean good. Some of our favorite stories from our official members are very short and concise. We like to say, if you can't give us an elevator pitch of who your character is, you haven't nailed it down yet. Nail down the person first before moving on to what they've done or where they've been. e.g. Do they have a sharp wit. Are they grouchy? Funny? Manipulative? Caring? Maybe explore their flaws because then they feel real and real is way more interesting than being good at everything.

Resist the urge to make your character larger than life. Resist the urge to give them too many character traits. Resist the urge to place them at historic events. Resist the urge to pair them with prominent characters. These kinds of things will be flagged by our app team as possibly straying too close to fan-fic.

The show Andor taught us that "random acts of rebellion are happening constantly across the galaxy" which proves that a maintenance worker sabotaging equipment or engaging in malicious compliance while on the job and passing along actionable information is just as important and just as heroic as an ace X-Wing pilot. 

There is no requirement for length as long as you communicate your story. We receive submission that are anywhere from a few sentences to a few paragraphs.

Tells us a bit about their personality, where they grew up, why the chose to act against the Empire in their unique way and what was the catalyst for joining a fringe cell of rebels like the Burgundy Squadron.

Lock in your character and you can then continue to add to their story on your own. So, 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. 

IMPORTANT NOTE:  We do not accept any ai generated stories, no exceptions. If you are asked about the legitimacy of your written backstory, please do not take offense, we just need to protect our club’s anti-ai policy.

Requirements to become an official member are as follows. Please only submit your application if you have all of the required elements below:

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

For approval, we'll need pictures of you wearing your finished costume, front/back/sides, for the purpose of seeing all sides of your costume. 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" or “action shot” of your character as part of the application.

This will serve as your roster photo and new member announcement on our socials once you are 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 options as you'd like but only one “hero shot” is required. Please let us know if we should include any photographer credits as well. We happily accept human-made digital composites as hero shots but we do NOT accept ai generated images of any kind. No exceptions.

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

Your backstory can be as long as you'd like but please also provide a shortened version of your backstory under 2000 characters. We do NOT accept ai generated writing of any kind.

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3. In your application email please include your instagram handle, your discord handle, and let us know what city you are in so that we may sort you into your region for LucasFilm events.

Once approved you will receive your call sign number, an announcement post on instagram will go up shortly after, you will be granted access to our member’s only areas of our discord, 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.

NOTE: Once approved, any major changes to the core look or story of your character would need to be re-reviewed by the app team as if it was a new membership application.

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 and use the #ask-the-app-team channel to submit any questions directly to the app team.

Approved Members: Please join our discord as this is how we communicate important news, announce member's 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 already 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 our founder, billi Maddox. Reproductions of the Burgundy Squadron emblem are strictly prohibited. Any and all use must be authorized and cleared beforehand whether you are an approved member or not. No exceptions.