STAR WARS NOMADS
Welcome to the website of the Star Wars Nomads Costuming Fan Group (Nomads), a fan group recognized by Lucasfilm Ltd. and dedicated to original characters of the Star Wars universe. The Nomads project aimes at creating original, screen-quality, Star Wars costumes and characters set in environments that allow you to feel truly immersed in our beloved Galaxy Far, Far Away.
Find out more about our project in the sections below the Galleries of our most recent events.
EVENTS GALLERY
SPECIAL GALLERY
The result of the photo shoot held over a weekend in January 2024 on the hills of Castrocaro, in our beloved Romagna, Italy.
Gaétan Perreau s a French photographer specializing in historical reenactments. This isn't his first venture beyond our known galaxy to visit the distant galaxy of Star Wars. Upon learning about the Nomads, he decided to come to Italy to do a photoshoot with several of our members on local the local hills of Castrocaro.
In addition to the Nomads, members of the 501st and Rebel Legion also took part in this incredible day, driving for hours and hiking to reach a very special location.
Credits: Barry’s Photography
Photos taken while traveling to Tunisia in search of locations where Star Wars and Indiana Jones were filmed.
A great series of photos taken at our Noot's Den with a traditional film camera. Ph: Maurizio Immernino
During Milano Games Week & Cartoomics 2023, the photographer Chiara Santaterra took some incredible photos that were used to create the posters of some of our first members.
you can fid her great work on facebook and instagram.
THE ORIGINS OF THE PROJECT
The Nomads Project was born within Empira, an unofficial Star Wars fan club that has been promoting the Star Wars passion in Italy for over 15 years. In 2022, a small group of Empira members—veterans of the 501st Legion, the first Star Wars costuming group officially recognized by Lucasfilm—began working on the idea of applying the same meticulous attention to detail used for screen-accurate costume replicas to the creation of costumes for original characters. The Nomads made their public debut in November 2023 during the Milan Games Week – Cartoomics event.
To truly understand who the Nomads are, you need to read between the lines of Star Wars. It means looking beyond the Jedi, Mandalorians, Rebels, or Imperials. It’s about focusing on the corners of the screen, the blurred figures, and the background characters who bring the Star Wars world to life. This is a world, for the most part, in ruins—dirty, worn-out, dusty, and rusted. The most captivating thing is that in this broken world, people live, each with their own stories, often left to our imaginations.
WHO ARE THE NOMADS
The Nomads Project is dedicated to characters and costumes entirely imagined by their creators, drawing heavy inspiration from the elements showcased across the Star Wars universe.
Mechanics, former soldiers, innkeepers, laborers, bounty hunters, or simply residents of a small outpost on a remote Outer Rim planet devastated by war—these are what we call Nomads in our imagination. They are the background characters that, at the same time, bring depth and greatness to the Star Wars setting.
One of our goals is to act as a bridge between the official Legions—the 501st and the Rebel Legion—because in the galaxy, there aren’t just heroes and villains!
Our costumes are lived-in, crafted from spare parts, old radios, and vintage items repurposed for a new life in an imaginary galaxy. Our characters are gritty, worn-down, and aim to convey what it would feel like to exist in the outskirts of the Star Wars world.
The project also seeks to make it possible for everyone to feel part of the Star Wars universe without requiring significant financial investments. Simplicity, however, does not mean compromising on quality! Our top priority is to preserve the visual identity that defines Star Wars in every costume, whether simple or elaborate.
To support this, we provide detailed guidelines to steer the creative process, and our community is always ready to assist aspiring Nomads!
A poncho and a pair of well-placed goggles can already transport you into our world. A worn leather belt, lived-in motorcycle boots, all those parts that in 1977 (and still today) form the visual part of a Star Wars character.
If you want to learn more, we recommend reading two important documents: The Nomads Manifesto and the Guidelines for Costume Making.
All the images in this gallery were created by Bryan Matyas. The official concept art for The Mandalorian has been a significant source of inspiration for the entire project.
THE LOGO, THE NOOT and MAZ APEGUL
To distinguish ourselves and give ourselves a precise identity, we created our logo, designed by David Tito, representing nothing less than the skull of a nutria in "Nomads" style. The skull of a Noot.
What is a Noot, and why the Nutria?
Noots are a humanoid race with distinctive features of a nutria.
They are very short (about a meter) and, most importantly, they do not exist in the Star Wars canon; we invented them during the production of our Star Wars fan film called "Sacrificio".
In fact, one of the two directors is the "father" of Maz Apegul, Alessandro “Codeczombie” Randi, while Gabriele Galli created the name Noot.
To create a key character for the story and, to remain faithful to the "unwritten rules" of Star Wars products, Maz Apegul was born (another reference to Romagna and the folkloristic tales of monsters that pull our feet at night).
In the saga, we've seen bat-like humanoids, rat-like humanoids, shark-like humanoids, even insect and camel-like humanoids. Now, there's also the nutria-like humanoid, but only in our vision of the galaxy.
The idea of the nutria came about because it is a very present animal in our territory, and since we love to maintain ties with our homeland, and since the nutria lives on the margins, in the mud, hidden among our canals and does not have a good reputation, it seemed perfect as a choice. In short... the nutria is the real Nomads!
So our logo represents precisely this: our land, our ideas, and encapsulates our project.
THE NOOT'S DEN
In addition to launching the project in its costume-related part, we started building The Noot’s Den. The den of the Noot (in honor of Maz Apegul), the Nomads' den, where you can meet us, and where we will try to make you experience what we have dreamed of until today.
An ambitious project, in which we put all of ourselves, and with the help of a tireless team of associates, we created what - in our opinion - is the icing on the cake of the Nomads project.
HOW TO JOIN US
To go even deeper into understanding what it means to be Nomads and what is necessary to become part of this group and fully enjoy the experience we offer, it's best to read the manifesto and the guidelines to costumes. It provides a series of guidelines and rules for having fun together in the healthiest way possible.
You can freely download the document we wrote, and if you have questions or want to participate in the project, you can write to the address info@starwarsnomads.com
So that NO ONE forgets our Origins
So that EVERYONE clearly understands our goals
We are No One
We are Everyone
We are Nomads
The Nomads Syndicate (Nomads) is a worldwide Star Wars costuming organization dedicated to original characters of the Star Wars Universe. It is comprised of and operated by Star Wars fans. While it is not sponsored by Lucasfilm Ltd., it follows generally accepted ground rules for Star Wars fan groups. Star Wars, its characters, costumes, and all associated items are the intellectual property of Lucasfilm. © & ™ Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. Used under authorization.