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
Resistance Is Optional: Choose Your Adventure!
Our trials of bringing the fleet together have been hit and miss with scheduling and dates being a bit slim. So we're opening the floor to the fleet to pick the next date and theme! You can make your selection below on what works best for you ahead of our next fleet event! The final outcome will be shared at Europa on Facebook and in Fleet Alert in the Officers Hub as soon as we have a comfortable number of notes. For more information or to get direct updates on non-Discord online events, you can the subscribe to Twitch channel, visit twitch.tv/sfcq2. Google Meets events are hosted by our google account - you can add sfcquad2@gmail.com to your whitelist to ensure direct notification. Info and invite confirmations may also come from jt@sfcq2.com directly.
Sixty Year Mission…
It's been a really weird year already for the world of Star Trek fans. We started 2026 with a new venture into a strange new future with Starfleet Academy. Then just as the show had won people over, we found out it's the latest in a long list of recent productions to get a cancellation order, is a bit of a weird way to start the 60th anniversary of a legendary franchise. The past few years we've kind of spoiled. Growing up it was exciting to have Deep Space Nine run alongside the Next Generation. In modern times we had multiple shows going at once with Discovery's launch spawning a new world of story telling from revisiting Picard in his post-Starfleet years, to animated comedy with Lower Decks, to finally telling the story of Captain Pike and even a peek […]
[Retro Review] Let This Be Your Last Battlefield
Often shown in highlight reels and quoted in discussions about Star Trek's more forward thinking messages, Let This Be Your Last Battlefield is at it's simplest, a story of the ridiculousness of segregation. En route to a vital mission of mercy, Kirk and his crew end up in the middle of a political minefield. Interrupted in the mission by a stolen Federation shuttle carrying an injured alien, Lokai from the planet Cheron, they're soon further interrupted by Commissioner Bele, an official representing Cheron who announces Lokai as a political traitor and demanding custody. One asylum request later, Kirk's stuck between the two trying to find the right course of action knowing he has orders to follow beyond the situation. The separation between Belle and Lokai is a simple context. And also a strangely charged one looking at it from a […]
[Treknology] The Holodeck
An immersive experience in itself, the Holodeck is one of the many creature comforts that help bring comfort and entertainment within the life of a starship years from home that not only acts in creating a live action gaming environment, but as a useful tool for educational simulations, experiments and the occasional Hirogen nightmare! The holodeck is a complex device. Essentially a simulated environment generator, the holodeck is usually a vast room that used a combination of forcefields, matter replication and visually manipulative holographic systems to create an immersive environment that one or multiple people can use to not only see and hear, but physically interact with. Able to replicate anything from historical settings to an entirely original landscape, the holodeck ios Knightmare in ultra high resolution without a headset or guide, but a physical interaction with a created world […]
A Fistful of Sisko
In the past few years, Star Trek has made several nods to it's past. But while The NExt Generation and Voyager had their continuations, Deep Space Nine continued to 'black sheep' of the family with it's history and name drops being few and far between. Until Academy when we had an entire episode based around the legend of Starfleet's most complex captains. Starting his show as a widower and single parent, Benjamin Sisko started his time in Star Trek as a reluctant hero turned religious icon who's become a prime figure in Bajoran history, the Federation-Dominion war and much more. If you missed his series, first of.... why?! And also, if you want a quick intro - here's our Sisko top five to see what the fuss is all about. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzBkvzPoofQ IN THE PALE MOONLIGHT Season 6, Episode 13 Lets […]
Starfleet Academy to end with with Season 2
Announced first by Variety, it's been announced that Starfleet Academy will end with Season 2. Having just launches in January with the first season finale receiving positive reactions, and it's second season now in post-production following the completion of filming, the announcement comes at an unsurprising time with Paramount undergoing new ownership under Skydance and more business shenanigans with further consolidation in the works with plans to absorb Warner Brothers into the mix. Set in the 32nd century and using Discovery's season 3 'Burn' storyline as a reset point, Starfleet Academy was focused on new original characters who had signed up to be the new stewards of Starfleet's future to rebuild the strength and vision of the Federation. Opening strong, Academy improved throughout it's first season and used it's setting to help strengthen the hopeful vision of the future and […]
Related
[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 […]
For The Uniform: The Muted Tones of The Motion Picture
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 […]
For The Uniform: The First Contact Era, 2373-2380’s
The Borg were on the attack, the Dominion were plotting to overthrow the Federation and the Klingons were on the offensive. Also there was a new feature film with all new design in the works, so it was time for a new change for Starfleet as the bright colours were thrown out and replaced with something more fitting for an era of doom and gloom. Introduced in Star Trek First Contact, the new uniform was an evolution of the previous design initially created for Deep Space Nine's more 'hands on' style. The 'First Contact' uniform was a bit of a departure from what we'd seen in the Next Generation era. The original Star Trek uniforms were designed in an era where colour television was brand spanking new and as such, they were bright, bold and matched the multicoloured mood lights […]
