Starfleet’s wardrobe always seems to change. Different producers and designers always bring something new to the table, whether it’s a need to create a more militarised uniform, something nice and simple for a more real-world feel, or sometimes – just sometimes – space pyjamas.
In the 1960s, colour television was all the rage and Star Trek was at the forefront of that huge leap in visual technology. It’s outfits and set design were crafted to be bold and brash, resulting in the bright paintwork, scenes lit with vibrant pinks and purples and of course the now iconic division coloured uniforms.
In both the planned launch of Phase II in 1978 and the earlier animated series in 1973, the iconic look of Starfleet was retained in all its bright and colourful glory. But when plans were scrapped and Paramount opted to follow Star Wars success on the big screen, The Motion Picture went into development and somewhere along the lines the production team opted to banish the famous red, blue and gold and replace it all with something that fit with the tones of 70’s sci fi and the desire to lean towards a more ‘real world’ and practical update in comparison to the design cues of the era that brought us Adam West’s Batman.
THE MOTION PICTURE (2270’s)
The ultimate goal was to create a new Starfleet uniform where this future society would wear basic, fashion free and organically crafted clothes. Something you could whip up in a replicator or have it miraculously appear on you as you shower. Because, well, we don’t know why.
“He wanted the clothes simply to be there, to be accepted, to look logical—to seem real, very real, not phony in any way.” Costume designer Bob Fletcher would recount of his conversations with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and director Robert Wise, “It had to look like the future, but not be so extravagant that it drew attention to itself.”
The end result was a series of plain costumes drawn from the idea of comfort and practicality; t-shirts and dress shirts being the base inspiration.
Multiple versions were drafted up for visual variety. The base uniform was a one-piece tight jumpsuit with detailing on the upper half reminiscent of the original series collar. A two piece version was also created with a curved trim. Each version came with a chunky buckle on the waistband serving as a tool for monitoring the officers life signs.
One of the most unique elements of the costume was that the boots were attached directly to the trouser legs in all versions, creating a seamless and hard to recreate look.
Alternate versions were in abundance with open collars, a but of 70s flared collar for the medical staff and a short sleeved version, primarily worn by Kirk, that had added piping across the seams. A bolder grey and white costume was also added to the line up specifically to symbolise Kirk as an Admiral, complete with metal pin in place of the era-standard woven Starfleet insignia.
Division colour coding still existed, but instead of being the primary colour it was indicated in small shoulder panels and in a circle stitched behind the now standardised Starfleet delta. The traditional tones were still partly in effect. Operations officers specialising helm and navigation retained the gold alongside communications specialists and engineers were still indicated by the red department colour. Security Officers, while still part of the overall operations sector, would have grey panels.
Medical officers would have a sensible olive green on the shoulder. Science however, after being popularised by Spock’s cool blue, was now a weirdly harsh orange. Less weird however was command, which was now a sharp white, a colour scheme that would remain familiar throughout the original cast movie era.
The base of the costumes is what makes this uniform stand out amongst other Starfleet uniforms. The originals were bright and bold, those that followed were also a rich and vibrant shade. TMP’s however were subdued; the base suits being a variety of whites, greys and beige.
While the networks would demand more colour in the original series, this was all down to the dawn of colour television at home. It cost a lot to produce and networks wanted to make the most of it. By the time The Motion Picture went into production, things had changed. Basically, they were over it.
“I felt, and Robert Wise felt, that the brilliant color was not very realistic, that it seemed distracting. He wanted to concentrate on people’s faces or the emotion involved, and bright turquoise and red things vibrating on a widescreen were not what he wanted to do.” Fletchers design asthetic for the Motion picture wasn’t just born out of the need to ensure the audience weren’t distracted by anything bright and shiney. He’d further explain a point many fans have made over the years, “Military organizations have the tendency to keep things more utilitarian, and this will probably continue in the future.”
CREATING THE TMP STYLE
While not exactly a fan favourite style, the process of producing the uniforms for screen would prove to be a massive task. In charge of it all, Fletcher wound up having one of the most complex jobs of any Star Trek production to date.
“We made over 700 costumes, but we didn’t make them all at once; we finished them as we went along.” Fletcher would later recount, “I was just trying to keep ahead of the filming schedule like everyone else.”
To ensure those costumes made it to film, the production had over two hundred staff between two locations working on everything from cutting fabric to moulding plastic for more complex builds. Though it was the volume of work needed that was one of the biggest challenges.
With the drive to create a visual variety, each principal character would have multiple styles of uniform. William Shatner, for example, would go through multiple changes in the film. Starting with his white and grey Admirals uniform, downgrading to casual short sleeves and eventually ending up in the grey-blue duty uniform. There were multiple copies made of each, a minimum of five for each actor, and with the biggest cast of extras ever seen in one room in any Trek production. And that was just Starfleet costumes!
Built from Starfleet standard wool gaberdine, the colours were chosen and ordered and only did the production learn too late that their grey officers fabric wasn’t available. Further stresses were encountered when, after promising to send more, Fletcher discovered the owners of the mill were on vacation and wouldn’t be able to supply the fabrics in time.
An 11th hour find of something that was “good enough” was sourced. White. Which had to be dyed the right colour. And of course, that went wrong as well with over three hundred yards of fabric ruined due to bad dying techniques from outsourced parties. Eventually a replacement was found the day before the greys were needed, but with the stress of building them, it was amazing they made it to screen.
Was it worth it? Well, the Motion Picture uniforms aren’t the best regarded in the franchise. Not only for the discomfort the actors felt in them, but in their drab appearance that were, in some places, a little too tight. But it was the first time Star Trek adopted the real-world reality that uniform may be, well, uniform, but they still need variety of style and function and while it was a one and done appearance for the style, a few would be repurposed for the next incarnation of Starfleet’s stylish appearance.
The TMP Edition of For The Uniform first appeared in 2019’s Discover More Edition of Comms (preview here) and has been edited into two parts for SFCQ2.com. Part 2, The Monster Maroon, is scheduled for launch in May 2025.
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