In the 1960’s Star Trek introduced a bold and simple look for the officers of the USS Enterprise with a style that became iconic in science fiction. For a modern return to the era, a new series needed a new look that stayed true to the original.
Being a prequel series, Strange New Worlds era of Starfleet’s style was largely pre-determined. The classic colours of the original series were the template for the era’s visual upgrade and much like the Kelvin Timeline films, the style’s upgrade came with it’s own twist on the iconic look. On Discovery, Gersha Phillips re-coloured the base template of her utilitarian uniform design to match the bright shades of the original series. Having worked alongside Phillips on the show, Strange New Worlds lead costume designer, Bernadatte Croft, used similar techniques to create a more balanced look between the 60’s and modern design.
The new uniforms use a two-layer base to mimick the classic look, with a black undershirt showing through the collar of the new v-neck uniforms. Taking the same basic shape and style as the originals, Croft’s final design utilised a poly-cotton, wrinkle free (of course!) fabric to give a smoother, more manufactured look while retaining the shape and silhouette. Using some of Phillips techniques, panels reaching from shoulder to the cuff were printed with a repeating division logo to give texture and visual interest to each outfiit.
Distancing from the pastel shades of the past, the new tones were designed to contrast with the vibrant set pieces with the golden command colour using the Chai Tea shade, Science’s a Dark Demin and Operations in a darker Pomegranate.
Adding to the collection, the uniform set also includes a unique medical tunic inspired by the one worn by McCoy in the original series. In a lighter power blue tone, the tunic overlaps with a static rounded collar. Unlike the original series, the nursing staff – primarily Christine Chapel – is highlighted with a white jumpsuit which combined the SNW uniform cut with the utility outfits used on Discovery.
Mirroring the uniforms designed for Star Trek Beyond, each version has plain cuffs and plays host to each officers rank stripes. More simplistic than the ones used in the original series, the stripes also pull inspiration from the simplified Kelvin Timeline look. Though where in Discovery the Enterprise rank stripes mirrored the department tones of the shows uniforms, Strange New Worlds used a gold set for command, silver for medical variants and metallic division coloured striped for Operations and Sciences.
But if you’re going to pull from the original series, you have to include the dress! A touch longer than the one worn by Nichelle Nichols in the 70’s, the new dress variant follows the sample sharp and simple style of the main tunic with black panels down the sides and a zip on the front side attached to a high collar.
Keeping the simplicity, the trousers accompanying the uniform stay to a simple, plain black design with highlighted panels down each side. Meanwhile the (very stylish!) calf high boots were added in collaboration with designer John Fluevog.
Completed by the gold pin with silver outline that debuted in Discovery’s second season, the Strange New Worlds uniforms are a perfect blend of old and new, staying true to the original styles and presentation with an updated, sharper look.
You can read more about Bernadette in her interview on Art of Costume
About the author
A Fistful of Picard
While Star Trek first launched in 1966, for a huge number fans of science fiction, it wasn't Kirk's adventures that defined Star Trek. It was Picard's. Leading the show into huge success, revitalising and rebuilding what Star Trek was, Patrick Stewart brought a refined performance to bring a measured, intellectual leader to the bridge of the Enterprise. With an incredible calm and restraint, Picard's aura was one that commanded respect through his ability to listen, understand and lead with his conscience. Following the sad loss of the legendary actor, we figured it's time to put our feet up, have some Earl Grey (hot, of course) and look back at some of the Captains finest hours. Measure of a Man TNG Season 2 Episode 9 Hoping to learn from and build on Data's systems, Dr Bruce Maddox comes aboard the Enterprise […]
“What we leave behind is not as important how we lived.” Remembering Sir Patrick Stewart. 1940-2026.
A massive part of the Star Trek Universe and one of it's most distinguished stars, Sir Patrick Stewart was the definitive captain for several generations of Star Trek fans. The acclaimed British actor has died at the age of 86 at his home in Los Angeles following a period of illness involving Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. Introduced to the world of Star Trek in 1987, Stewart took on the tough challenge of leading a new cast and new era of what had become a cult classic show in it's Next Generation sequel. Bringing a very different captain to the forefront, Jean Luc Picard was thoughtful, guarded and guided by a quiet principle. Using the talents gained through his stage career, particularly his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Stewart spent seven years defining what it was to be […]
A Fistful of Spooky Encounters
Since it's inception Star Trek hasn't just been a sci fi show, but a show that used it's science fiction setting to tell a variety of stories from a large pool of themes and styles. And since we're officially in 'Spooky Season' on the countdown to Halloween, why not take a look at some of Star Trek's best dives into darkness? EMPOK NOR DEEP SPACE NINE, SEASON 5 Deep Space Nine is falling apart and thanks to the war, O'Brien can't exactly ask the Cardassians for spare parts. But he has a plan. Along with Nog and Garak, O'Brien leads an engineering crew to another abandoned Cardassian station to salvage what they can. Only problem is... there's a reason it was abandoned... Possibly the most straight forward horror story in the series, Empok Nor was host to an experiment gone […]
Delta Quarter Promotions & Citations: September 2026
Throughout it’s entire existence SFC has grown, evolved and thrived due to the commitment and passion of our officers and crew. Keen members can make a huge difference within their unit or the fleet as a whole, and we like to ensure members are rewarded and recognised for all they bring to the organisation. Starting this year, we're opening every new period within the fleet celebrating those who have made an impact and engaged in being a positive influence in their unit or in Q2 overall. And while we're getting in a little bit earlier, we'd like to introduce our Delta Quarter awards. While promotion is one of the most visible awards available to members, one of the most vital are our commendations. Commendations are a formal recognition awarded to members of Quadrant 2 who have shown commendable service and […]
Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey: ‘Tomorrows Enterprise’, Strange New Worlds S4E10
Focusing on two timelines, Tomorrows Enterprise leads with Uhura of the present linked to her future as the two work together, manipulating the timeline to their advantage to solve the mystery of an undecipherable alien message, and a certain Scottish engineer who seems to have vanished from the timeline in the future... Writers: Henry Alonso Myers & Robbie Thompson. Director: Chris Fisher. In the present, there's some weirdness for Pike's Enterprise as they investigate a White Hole thats giving off some weird signals and an energy pulse that causes a temporal shift that directly effects Uhura after she hears strange sounds over comms. As she begins to hear things, such as Scotty screaming for help, her future self is going through some oddities of her own. A year in the future, the Enterprise is on the other side of […]
What If…. the Whales Were Never Extinct?
Fondly remembered as the lightest, more comedic entries in Star Trek's film offerings, The Voyage Home is the story of an alien probe coming to Earth to talk to it's whale pen pal, a little bit miffed that they've not had a letter in a while. In the 21st century, those pen pals – Humpback Whales – had been hunted to extinction. Meanwhile, Kirk and his disgraced crew were on the way home to stand trial and through some time warp shenanigans, take a stolen Bird of Prey back to the 20th century, kidnap some whales, and take them to the 23rd century to save the day. The charges against Kirk were a fairly big deal. Previously Kirk had stolen a soon to be retired Enterprise, went against orders and along with support from his long standing command crew barged […]
Related
[For The Uniform] Generational Upgrade: 2350’s-2370’s
After solidifying a formal military style with stiff dark reds and heavy duty fabrics through the latter half of the 23rd century, the 'Monster Maroons' defined Starfleet as a more serious, more robust organisation. With minor tweaks the look stayed strong for almost 80 years when suddenly Starfleet decided they needed a dramatic change. It's not uncommon. Starfleet goes through uniforms faster, and in more rapid evolutions than any other organisation in history.Maybe it's because of the constant evolution of the Federation? Bringing in new members, new styles, new sensibilities and adapting to their needs. Maybe the MonsterMaroonians joined the Federation and would only absorb their navies into Starfleet if they adapted to their style, and it took eighty years for another species to come in and make fashion related demands. Maybe a new Admiral became Commander in Chief and […]
[For The Uniform] The Pioneers: Mid 22nd Century
Giving us a glimpse of Starfleet's formative years, Star Trek Enterprise embraced a world before colourful uniforms, flashy computer panels and creature comforts all around. Set a century before Captain Kirk's five year mission and focused on the first line of Starfleet ships built to take on the final frontier, the show focused on Starfleet's first steps into becoming what we all knew and loved.... Offering a dramatic shift in visual identity, Enterprise took a massive step back from the comfortable styles of the Next Generation, and even further away from the colour coded optimism of the original series. Instead of bold colours and hidden zips, designer Robert Blackman took inspiration from his own century, using Enterprise's timeline to bridge the style gap between Kirk's era and our own.Taking inspiration from NASA's flight suits, Starfleet's were idealised as the next […]
[For The Uniform] The Next Gen Era ‘Working’ Uniform; 2360s-2370’s
Complimenting the formal styles worn in the era on starships such as the USS Enterprise-D, Starfleet introduced a 'Type B' working uniform in the mid-late 2360's. With a looser and more relaxed fit, the working uniform was a standardised jumpsuit with darker tones used on facilities such as Deep Space Nine and later selected by many captains as standard dress across the fleet. Type B uniforms were a simplistic design compared to the Type A's worn by the Enterprise crew. A minimalist style, the base was a black jumpsuit typically worn with an open collar. The four-panel design was straight forward and simple, with internal waistband bringing in the fit at the waist while 'action pleats' were styled into the back for more ease of movement. The shoulder panels, mimicking the style of the Type A, would be coded to […]
[For The Uniform] The Flashback Era.
Since 2017 we've been blessed with multiple glimpses of our future across several era;s and styles. For those looking at the fashion of the Federation, due to the age old tradition of getting bored of the same look after a while, thats meant a look at how the Starfleet style evolved from The Next Generation into the 25th century. Giving us our first civilian-led cast, Star Trek Picard departed from Starfleet as it's focus. However, Starfleet wasn't totally off screen. Through flashbacks would fill out the gaps, giving us a second 'lost era' with it's own distinct style.... Starfleets a funny thing. Obviously there's a production reason for the differing looks, but each one reflects an era in very specific ways. The orginal series had a simple, bright and hopeful style that distanced itself from the militaristic look of most […]
Relay Recap: July 2024
All Features Universe Categories Fleet Alert Comms GORN GIRL recap; july 2025 Picking up on the Season 2 cliff-hanger, Strange New Worlds returned to our screens this month to find Captain Pike and his crew on the edge of war with the Gorn as Season 3 was finally released!Exploring new worlds and new problems, the Enterprise crew are back in action on Paramount Plus and we're keeping ourselves up to date with weekly episode discussion threads on our FB Continuing Mission Group & Weekly episode reviews from Admin ! Explore... Episode Reviews Spoilers Group ACROSS THE UNIVERSE As we look back on Pike's adventures on the Enterprise in the prequel series, Paramount also gave us a look at whats to come next as Entertainment Weekly and SDCC's Star Trek Universe panel gave us a sneak peek at the reopening of […]
[For The Uniform] The Monster Maroons! (2280’s-2350’s)
If there's one thing that Trekkies can agree upon, it's that the Motion Picture uniforms were awful. Even designer Bob Fletcher, who'd put a lot of work into the design process, completely agreed. When Star Trek 2 was given the thumbs up, new director Nicholas Meyer wanted a complete overhaul, so it was back to the drawing board for Fletcher with more direction on what Meyer wanted from the uniforms and significantly less to spend on them. Meyer's impression of the Motion Picture was pretty much just people walking around in space jammies. While Roddenberry had objected to calling Starfleet a military, to Meyer, it very clearly was. There was a command structure, a mission, a ship and a crew all acting as if they were military officers on a peaceful mission. So why not dress them like it? Using […]
