Darth Vader is one of the most iconic characters in movie history, and is definitely one of the most beloved in the Star Wars franchise.
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Part of him being so memorable as well as menacing is his long, dark cape, which gives the old timey vibes of him being an evil lord of the sith. Without this cape, he wouldn’t be anywhere near as iconic, since, as we can see thanks to a glitch in the game battlefront 2, he looks very weird and just plain silly without one.

But other than looking cool, why did he wear this cape? Believe it or not, it was actually something of deep strategic importance which, if absent, could cause Vader a world of trouble. The cape was made out of armorweave, something which we don’t know a lot about in canon, though it had some level of resistance to blaster fire and lightsaber strikes. Similar material was also used for Count Dooku and Asajj Ventress’ capes.

In legends though, we have a lot more details on this material, and it had some unexpected benefits. The cape provided significant protection against environmental hazards and potential damage, whether it be violent, toxic and acidic bursts of gunk, or fire which may have been encountered on a world like Mustafar. It also prevented everyday buildups of grit and other things, keeping the suit in working order without clogging the interior filters constantly. I wonder if that extends to buildups of other things… maybe even sand.