Starfleet uniforms
Encyclopedia
In the fictional Star Trek
universe enlisted personnel and officers in the United Earth Starfleet and, later, the United Federation of Planets
' Starfleet
wear a variety of uniforms.
, male officers on the USS Enterprise
wear a colored shirt with a delta on the right breast, dark green pants which appeared black on camera, and black boots; female officers wear a uniform skirt, black tights
and boots, although they occasionally wear the "male" uniform. The skirts' shortness is commented upon in "Trials and Tribble-ations" (DS9); Nichelle Nichols
, however, did not believe that the miniskirt
s were unusually short or revealing:
Rank
is indicated by gold solid or dotted braids on the sleeves. The shirt color indicates crew members' branch. In the pilot episodes, command personnel wear chartreuse
(which tended to look gold or yellow on film), science and medical personnel wear blue, security wears red and operations wear beige, each with a matching colored collar and undershirt (TOS: "The Cage", "Where No Man Has Gone Before
"). When Star Trek went into regular production, the department colors were altered: command and helm personnel
wear the green/gold shirts, operations, engineering and security personnel wear red, and science and medical personnel wear blue, all with black collars and undershirts (TOS: "The Man Trap"). Certain operations and engineering personnel wore red jumpsuits with white undershirts. The frequent death of red-uniformed security officers led to the coining of the popular term redshirt
.
Insignia within the delta logo also indicate the wearer's branch: a star indicates command, a circle crossed by an oval indicates science and medical, and an angular spiral indicates operations and engineering. However, in the second pilot only, the science/medical and engineering/operations symbols were reversed ("Where No Man Has Gone Before").
In the first pilot, "The Cage", the uniforms also include gray coats with silver rank stripes on the sleeves, worn on away missions, and an optional gray cap. On occasion, Captain James T. Kirk
wears a green shirt (TOS: "The Trouble With Tribbles"). Such tunics are shown both with the rank stripes on the sleeves and on the shoulders (TOS: "The Enemy Within"), and always feature the assignment patch near the waist as a belt fastener.
Officers assigned to other starships or starbases wear the same uniforms, but with the arrowhead replaced by different logos or "assignment patches" representing the ship or base on which they are stationed (TOS: "Court Martial", "The Doomsday Machine", et al.).
On certain occasions, the characters wear dress uniform
s (TOS: "Journey to Babel", "Court Martial") that are made of a shinier fabric and are decorated with gold piping and colored badges that vary depending on rank. (TOS: "Court Martial"). The command uniform's true chartreuse color is most easily identified from these fabrics which were less affected by the lighting.
The original shirt & skirt material itself was velour
. Used in the first and second seasons, it shrank after it was dry-cleaned and tore easily, so it was replaced in the third season by a nylon fabric used in professional baseball uniforms.
The uniforms on Star Trek were designed by staff costume designer William Ware Theiss
.
of the series was produced from 1973 to 1974. The uniforms depicted in this series matched the general parameters and appearance of those used in the live action series. However, the perception by fans of the command uniforms being yellow/gold instead of green, thanks to set lighting and other factors, resulted in the producers committing to a definitive gold-color for animation purposes. However, the command dress uniforms remained green to match the perceived colors represented by the live action series, though the uniform pants were gray as they were in the live action series.
, they were replaced by a new design. The film has multiple uniform styles, including one-piece jumpsuits, matching shirt and pants, and tunics either with buttons or a sash around the waist. All uniform variants include shoes built into the pantlegs. Some uniforms have short sleeves, while others are long-sleeved, with either standing, v-neck, or turnover collars. Uniforms come in gray, white, gray and white, blue, brown, and beige.
Most all the uniforms in the first movie also included a noticeable "perscan" medical monitoring device, mentioned in the Gene Roddenberry's novelization of "The Motion Picture", which appears on the uniforms in the position where one would expect to see a belt buckle.
Rank is indicated by braids on long sleeves or on shoulder boards, identical to TOS.
Security guards wear white uniforms with brown helmets and breastplates. Engineers wear thick white spacesuits with large, black, ribbed collars.
In "The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture," Susan Sackett
and Gene Roddenberry
wrote that the uniforms were redesigned because the bright colors of the 1960s original, so vibrant on television, would distract viewer attention on the big screen. But the designs proved unpopular with their wearers, and when he took over as producer of the motion pictures, Harve Bennett
ordered the uniforms redesigned because he did not want "an all-gray crew on an all-gray ship."
The uniforms were redesigned for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
. The second movie-era uniform consists of a burgundy single-breasted jacket with a black stripe along a sealing mechanism (admirals also had smaller gold stripes below, the number depending on rank), with a colored strip, used to close the tunic, over the right shoulder designating division, attached to which is a rank pin. A white, gold, grey, dark green, light green, dark blue, light blue or red colored turtle-neck under the jacket indicates division. All officer uniforms have a division colored stripe on the outside of the legs on the trousers or skirt that matches the shoulder strap and service bar, except for command branch, whose leg stripes are red and not white. This costume was nicknamed the "Monster Maroons."
An alternate "bomber" jacket was worn by Kirk
and Scott
, as well as Admiral Morrow (Star Trek III: The Search For Spock
,Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
,Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
). In later years Scotty would often remove the jacket all together, simply wearing a black vest, with numerous pockets useful for an engineer, with his undershirt.
Scotty's undershirt itself was inconsistent - wearing a white shirt (consistent with his rank of Captain) with the vest or bomber, but a gold one (used by Engineering crew) with his formal duty tunic.
All uniforms include the arrowhead insignia from TOS, now adopted as the Starfleet emblem, on the left chest. Characters also wear a black belt with a buckle shaped like the Starfleet arrowhead.
Security and engineering personnel wear armor and radiation suits, respectively, similar to those worn in The Motion Picture, although security guards wear a red, turtle-necked uniform underneath (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
). The engineering radiation suits have a colored collar ("Star Trek II"): black indicates officer, red indicates cadet. There is also a field jacket for away missions with several large pockets, arm patches, white ribbing and a large white turnover collar. Starfleet cadets in The Wrath of Khan wear the same uniforms as officers, but with bright red undershirts and a red shoulder strap instead of one indicating department.
Enlisted personnel wear a one-piece red jumpsuit (similar color as the officer uniform) with tan shoulders and upper chest and black undershirts. Enlisted trainees wore the same uniform, substituting the black undershirt for a red one. (Star Trek II).
Uniforms similar to this style are still in use at least as late as the 2340s, although without the turtle-neck or belt (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise
", "Dark Page", "Family, "Violations"). The TNG episode "Cause and Effect" shows that they were in use as early as 2278.
wear a jumpsuit with a Starfleet communicator badge
(or 'commbadge' as it was sometimes called) on the left chest and rank insignia on the right side of the collar. The uniforms' sleeves and abdominal area are colored to indicate the individual's branch, with red indicating command and helm; gold for engineering, security, and operations; and blue for science and medical (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint"). The division colors for command and operations switched from those used in Enterprise and TOS as Benjamin Sisko
tells Julian Bashir
in the DS9 episode: "Trials and Tribble-ations". In early episodes some crew members, male and female, can be seen wearing a tunic version of the uniform with bare legs and boots,an homage to the women's uniforms in TOS.
Beverly Crusher
sometimes wears a blue labcoat above her standard uniform (TNG: "The Naked Now"). The blue tended to appear teal under certain lighting conditions in the later seasons and subsequent spinoffs. In some episodes of the later seasons, Jean-Luc Picard
would sometimes wear a different uniform that consisted of a grey shirt with ribbed black shoulders and collar with a "bomber jacket" that was red overall with black ribbed shoulders, often worn open or very loosely fastened. The uniforms could be fitted with pouches for carrying tricorder
s and Type 2 phasers on the waist, and the early versions had a small pocket built in on the left side of the waist for carrying a smaller Type 1 phaser when appearing openly armed was not desired. The removable gear pouches were also incorporated into the uniforms used in DS9 and the TNG-era films from First Contact onward.
In the show's early seasons, the uniforms were one-piece jumpsuits made of Spandex
, and sized slightly too small so that they would be stretched when worn and provide a smooth appearance. The cast disliked the uniforms' painfully tight fit and lack of pockets, and after doctors warned that they risked permanent skeletal injury, the actors persuaded the costumers to gradually replace them with wool uniforms. The wool uniforms, which most main cast members wear from the third season onward, are two-piece (shirt and pants) designs that lack colored piping on the shoulders and edges of the pant leg cuffs and have a raised collar. The collar of the shirt has a colored edge of a width similar to that of the original diamond-shaped shoulder piping. The spandex uniforms continued to make appearances throughout TNG, usually worn by extras
in various scenes. These were later altered to lack the piping on the shoulders and trouser hems and include a raised collar as a cost-cutting measure.
Admirals wore numerous different uniform variations in the early years of TNG - beginning in the sixth season, a final design was settled on, featuring an untucked jacket with gold piping along a centered enclosure on the front, and rank pips (indicating the number of "stars"), encased in a gold square, on both sides of the collar.
The TNG dress uniform, which continued to be used in Deep Space Nine and Voyager, is a colored wraparound robe-like coat of a solid division color, save for black shoulders. The edges of the robe-like coats are piped in silver for field officers and in gold for flag officers.
Other uniform designs appeared briefly in individual episodes - always following the theme of a coloured or differentiated shoulder yoke. Examples include cadet uniforms in several episodes (including "The First Duty"). Wesley Crusher's 'Acting Ensign' grey costume was never specifically identified as a uniform, but it also exhibited a shoulder yoke design.
Theiss, the costume designer from the original series, returned to design the initial TNG uniforms. The costumes adopted from season 3 onwards and later series' costumes were designed by Robert Blackman.
introduced a new style of uniform that appeared to run in parallel to the one seen on TNG. The new uniform comprised a single-piece open-necked jumpsuit with the colored and black areas reversed (in other words, black torso and colored shoulders). A grey turtleneck was added (though the lighting tended to give the grey a slightly purple appearance), to which rank pips are affixed. The character of Major Kira wore an orange (the Bajoran command colour) jumpsuit over a white undershirt/blouse with Bajoran symbols that indicated her rank. This was because she was not a member of Starfleet but rather the Bajoran liaison to Deep Space 9. She retained this uniform (and a blue dress version) until she took command of the station at the end of the series, when she switched to the gray over-all over traditional uniform that had become standard by that time. Security Chief Odo also wore a brown Bajoran security uniform, as he was also not a member of Starfleet.
The station's crew still wear TNG style dress uniforms (DS9: "Move Along Home"), and both TNG- and DS9-style uniforms appear side by side in TNG' s "Birthright, Part I" and DS9' s "Homefront" and "Paradise Lost", as well as the series' pilot, "Emissary
".
Throughout the run of DS9, ship-based Starfleet personnel continue to wear the old TNG uniform design. The new design may therefore have been intended as an alternate 'class' of uniform for the different environment of the space station, as in a scene in "The Maquis, Part I" Commander Sisko can be seen wearing the new style uniform while Commander Hudson can be seen wearing the old style. Sisko also wore the TNG uniform on certain formal occasions and during his first arrival at DS9. He would revert to this uniform again when he was temporarily given the duties of "Head of Security" for Starfleet Headquarters. Admirals also retained the TNG style.
Following the release of Star Trek: First Contact, the new grey movie uniform design also appeared in DS9s fifth season and for the remainder of the series.
Star Trek: Generations New uniforms were designed and made for the movie Star Trek Generations, but were abandoned at the last minute. Nonetheless, Playmates launched a number of action figures, wearing these planned uniforms. Generations has the crew wearing both TNG and DS9/VOY uniforms, sometimes in the same scene (for instance, Worf and Riker in the battle against the Duras Sisters' Bird of Prey or Data and Geordi scanning the Amargosa Observatory for trilithium).
As the movie progresses, some characters change from old to new uniform designs but also back again (such as Captain Picard in the film's final scene). This would act as an introduction of the new design as standard shipboard wear for Star Trek: Voyager
.
The new style combadge (with the gold oval background of the TNG combage replaced by a rectangular gold background with a cutout in the center) was also introduced for all uniform types, and subsequently adopted for DS9 at the beginning of its third season.
Star Trek: Voyager The crew in Star Trek: Voyager use the same uniforms seen in the early episodes of Deep Space Nine throughout the show's run. Stuck in the Delta Quadrant and out of contact with Starfleet, Unlike the Deep Space Nine crew, the Voyager crew never makes the switch to the updated uniform seen in later DS9 episodes, Although in the episode ""Message in a bottle"
" in season 4 of the series the EMH mark II is wearing the updated "DS9" uniform. Starfleet personnel back in the Alpha Quadrant are seen wearing this uniform in later seasons of the show as well, when Voyager manages to reestablish contact with home. The crew also wears the TNG style dress uniforms (VOY: "Course: Oblivion", "Someone to Watch Over Me", "One Small Step", "Ashes to Ashes").
B'Elanna Torres
is sometimes seen wearing an overcoat over her normal uniform which matches the colors of her normal uniform, but has a pocket on the right breast for carrying small tools. The jacket was used in an attempt to hide actress Roxann Dawson
's pregnancy
. She wore it again when her character became pregnant, beginning in the episode "Q2".
Voyager also uses the new style combadge, and introduces a new 'provisional' rank insignia which consisted of a solid strip with varying markings to signify rank instead of the traditional pips, and were worn by the Maquis
members of Voyagers crew, since they were ineligible to wear official Starfleet ranks (see Starfleet provisional ranks and insignia for more information).
introduces a new uniform style later adopted in DS9 (DS9: "Rapture"). This uniform features a colored turtleneck undertunic (with the same departmental color scheme as in earlier shows) covered by a black jacket with colored bands on the lower sleeves near the cuffs showing the wearer's division, the shoulders and upper chest of which are ribbed and made of thick, blue-grey material. The communicator badge is worn on the jacket, while rank pins are worn on the undertunic's collar. The pants are black. Star Trek: Insurrection
also introduced a new dress uniform; It consisted of a white coat and black pants both with gold trim, a gray ribbed tunic (white tunic for flag officers and captains), and rank insignia on the collar of the tunic with the combadge worn in the customary location on the coat. Unlike the previous uniform, it was the same color regardless of the wearer's division, save for colored bands on the lower sleeves like the standard uniform. It also appeared in the DS9 episode "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges". Captains also had the option of a more casual uniform vest of the same basic design, though the blue-grey yoke extended much lower.
episode "The Visitor" and the Star Trek: Voyager
episode "Endgame". These episodes also included a new combadge design where the starfleet arrow was just an outline. This badge was also worn by Geordi La Forge in the Star Trek: Voyager
episode "Timeless" but on the gray shoulder uniform used in the TNG movies and later DS9 (this episode is not as far in the future as the others).
episode "Parallels" used an alternate combadge design where rank was denoted by the number of bars behind the arrowhead.
, field officers and crewmembers wear duty uniforms consisting of a dark long-sleeved undershirt and blue jumpsuit with colored piping around the shoulders and, often, baseball caps. There is also a desert uniform with khaki pants and white shirt. Both uniforms have a United Earth Starfleet patch (featuring the stylized arrowhead emblem) on the right upper arm, and a patch left upper arm denoting the ship one is serving on.
Division colors follow the TOS scheme, with command and flight control officers wearing gold piping, engineering and security officers wearing red piping, and science, medical and communication officers wearing blue piping. Throughout the series, men and women wear the same type of uniform. Unlike the other series' uniforms, standard uniforms on Enterprise include zip-up pockets, and the undershirt is buttoned at the neck - while Gene Roddenberry had explicitly forbidden such devices as buttons and zippers on Starfleet uniforms, believing they would be obsolete in the future, designer Bob Blackman consciously used them as a way of dating the series, implying that closures Roddenberry envisioned had not been invented yet. Blackman described the jumpsuits as "more like a NASA flight suit" than the previous Starfleet costumes, and actors from other Star Trek shows envied the Enterprise actors' much more comfortable and conventional outfits.
On certain occasions, Enterprise characters wear dress uniform
s similar to the blue jumpsuit, decorated with the same pattern of colored piping, but lacking the zip-up pockets and combined with a white long-sleeved undershirt and, in some cases depending on rank, a white tie
.
Rank insignia on duty uniforms are worn on right side of shoulders only, but rank insignia on dress uniforms are worn on both sides.
Also, there are two different kinds of field jackets worn on away missions. They have zippered pockets and the same colored pipings as the jumpsuits, as well as cold weather gear, pressure suits, spacesuits, an EV undersuit, and a royal blue undergarment with slight differences on male and female garments.
During the series, T'Pol
is almost never seen wearing the standard uniform although she is a commissioned officer in Starfleet, and often considered to be the first officer. The only times she wears the uniform is in the episode "Twilight" (featuring an alternate timeline) and briefly (as a disguise) in "Hatchery".
in the book Star Trek: The Art of the Film to be a deliberate homage.
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
universe enlisted personnel and officers in the United Earth Starfleet and, later, the United Federation of Planets
United Federation of Planets
The United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
' Starfleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
wear a variety of uniforms.
Star Trek: The Original Series
Throughout The Original SeriesStar Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
, male officers on the USS Enterprise
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
The USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, is a fictional starship in the Star Trek media franchise. The original Star Trek series depicts her crew's mission "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before" under the command of Captain James...
wear a colored shirt with a delta on the right breast, dark green pants which appeared black on camera, and black boots; female officers wear a uniform skirt, black tights
Tights
Tights are a kind of cloth leg garment, most often sheathing the body from about the waist to the feet with a more or less tight fit, hence the name....
and boots, although they occasionally wear the "male" uniform. The skirts' shortness is commented upon in "Trials and Tribble-ations" (DS9); Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols is an American actress, singer and voice artist. She sang with Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton before turning to acting...
, however, did not believe that the miniskirt
Miniskirt
A miniskirt, sometimes hyphenated as mini-skirt, is a skirt with a hemline well above the knees – generally no longer than below the buttocks; and a minidress is a dress with a similar meaning...
s were unusually short or revealing:
Rank
Starfleet ranks and insignia
Starfleet ranks and insignia are fictional titles and badges that form the hierarchy of Starfleet in the Star Trek television shows and movies.-Overview:...
is indicated by gold solid or dotted braids on the sleeves. The shirt color indicates crew members' branch. In the pilot episodes, command personnel wear chartreuse
Chartreuse (color)
Chartreuse is a color halfway between yellow and green that was named because of its resemblance to the green color of one of the French liqueurs called green chartreuse, introduced in 1764...
(which tended to look gold or yellow on film), science and medical personnel wear blue, security wears red and operations wear beige, each with a matching colored collar and undershirt (TOS: "The Cage", "Where No Man Has Gone Before
Where No Man Has Gone Before
"Where No Man Has Gone Before" is the second pilot episode of the television series Star Trek: The Original Series. It was produced in 1965 after the first pilot, "The Cage", had been rejected by NBC. The episode was eventually broadcast third in sequence on September 22, 1966, and was re-aired on...
"). When Star Trek went into regular production, the department colors were altered: command and helm personnel
Helmsman
A helmsman is a person who steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, or other type of maritime vessel. On small vessels, particularly privately-owned noncommercial vessels, the functions of skipper and helmsman may be combined in one person. On larger vessels, there is a separate officer of the watch,...
wear the green/gold shirts, operations, engineering and security personnel wear red, and science and medical personnel wear blue, all with black collars and undershirts (TOS: "The Man Trap"). Certain operations and engineering personnel wore red jumpsuits with white undershirts. The frequent death of red-uniformed security officers led to the coining of the popular term redshirt
Redshirt (character)
A "redshirt" is a stock character in fiction who dies soon after being introduced. The term originates with fans of Star Trek , from the red shirts worn by Starfleet security officers who frequently die during episodes.-Star Trek:...
.
Insignia within the delta logo also indicate the wearer's branch: a star indicates command, a circle crossed by an oval indicates science and medical, and an angular spiral indicates operations and engineering. However, in the second pilot only, the science/medical and engineering/operations symbols were reversed ("Where No Man Has Gone Before").
In the first pilot, "The Cage", the uniforms also include gray coats with silver rank stripes on the sleeves, worn on away missions, and an optional gray cap. On occasion, Captain James T. Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
wears a green shirt (TOS: "The Trouble With Tribbles"). Such tunics are shown both with the rank stripes on the sleeves and on the shoulders (TOS: "The Enemy Within"), and always feature the assignment patch near the waist as a belt fastener.
Officers assigned to other starships or starbases wear the same uniforms, but with the arrowhead replaced by different logos or "assignment patches" representing the ship or base on which they are stationed (TOS: "Court Martial", "The Doomsday Machine", et al.).
On certain occasions, the characters wear dress uniform
Dress uniform
Dress uniform , is the most formal military uniform, typically worn at ceremonies, official receptions, and other special occasions; with order insignias and full size medals...
s (TOS: "Journey to Babel", "Court Martial") that are made of a shinier fabric and are decorated with gold piping and colored badges that vary depending on rank. (TOS: "Court Martial"). The command uniform's true chartreuse color is most easily identified from these fabrics which were less affected by the lighting.
The original shirt & skirt material itself was velour
Velour
Velour or velours is a plush, knitted fabric or textile. It is usually made from cotton but can also be made from synthetic materials such as polyester. Velour is used in a wide variety of applications, including clothing and upholstery....
. Used in the first and second seasons, it shrank after it was dry-cleaned and tore easily, so it was replaced in the third season by a nylon fabric used in professional baseball uniforms.
The uniforms on Star Trek were designed by staff costume designer William Ware Theiss
William Ware Theiss
William Ware Theiss , also called Bill Theiss, was a costume designer for television and film....
.
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Based on the success and increasing popularity of Star Trek in syndication, an animated versionStar Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
of the series was produced from 1973 to 1974. The uniforms depicted in this series matched the general parameters and appearance of those used in the live action series. However, the perception by fans of the command uniforms being yellow/gold instead of green, thanks to set lighting and other factors, resulted in the producers committing to a definitive gold-color for animation purposes. However, the command dress uniforms remained green to match the perceived colors represented by the live action series, though the uniform pants were gray as they were in the live action series.
The Motion Picture
The original plans for the aborted Star Trek: Phase Two television series involved retaining TOS uniforms, but when the project became Star Trek: The Motion PictureStar Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
, they were replaced by a new design. The film has multiple uniform styles, including one-piece jumpsuits, matching shirt and pants, and tunics either with buttons or a sash around the waist. All uniform variants include shoes built into the pantlegs. Some uniforms have short sleeves, while others are long-sleeved, with either standing, v-neck, or turnover collars. Uniforms come in gray, white, gray and white, blue, brown, and beige.
Most all the uniforms in the first movie also included a noticeable "perscan" medical monitoring device, mentioned in the Gene Roddenberry's novelization of "The Motion Picture", which appears on the uniforms in the position where one would expect to see a belt buckle.
Rank is indicated by braids on long sleeves or on shoulder boards, identical to TOS.
Security guards wear white uniforms with brown helmets and breastplates. Engineers wear thick white spacesuits with large, black, ribbed collars.
In "The Making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture," Susan Sackett
Susan Sackett
Susan Sackett is an American author and screenwriter, best known for her involvement in the Star Trek franchise.-Biography:Susan Sackett was born in New York City on December 18, 1943, raised in Connecticut and moved to Florida after graduating from Hillhouse High School in New Haven...
and Gene Roddenberry
Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist, best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, California where his father worked as a police officer...
wrote that the uniforms were redesigned because the bright colors of the 1960s original, so vibrant on television, would distract viewer attention on the big screen. But the designs proved unpopular with their wearers, and when he took over as producer of the motion pictures, Harve Bennett
Harve Bennett
Harve Bennett is an American television and film producer and screenwriter.-Early years:...
ordered the uniforms redesigned because he did not want "an all-gray crew on an all-gray ship."
Star Trek II through Star Trek VI and Star Trek: Generations
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the second feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise. The plot features James T...
. The second movie-era uniform consists of a burgundy single-breasted jacket with a black stripe along a sealing mechanism (admirals also had smaller gold stripes below, the number depending on rank), with a colored strip, used to close the tunic, over the right shoulder designating division, attached to which is a rank pin. A white, gold, grey, dark green, light green, dark blue, light blue or red colored turtle-neck under the jacket indicates division. All officer uniforms have a division colored stripe on the outside of the legs on the trousers or skirt that matches the shoulder strap and service bar, except for command branch, whose leg stripes are red and not white. This costume was nicknamed the "Monster Maroons."
An alternate "bomber" jacket was worn by Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
and Scott
Montgomery Scott
Montgomery "Scotty" Scott is a Scottish engineer in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by James Doohan in the original Star Trek series, Scotty also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Relics", and in numerous...
, as well as Admiral Morrow (Star Trek III: The Search For Spock
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is a 1984 motion picture released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the third feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the center of a three-film story arc that begins with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and concludes with Star Trek IV:...
,Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series and completes the story arc begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The...
,Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is a 1989 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fifth feature in the franchise and the penultimate to star the cast of the original Star Trek science fiction television series...
). In later years Scotty would often remove the jacket all together, simply wearing a black vest, with numerous pockets useful for an engineer, with his undershirt.
Scotty's undershirt itself was inconsistent - wearing a white shirt (consistent with his rank of Captain) with the vest or bomber, but a gold one (used by Engineering crew) with his formal duty tunic.
All uniforms include the arrowhead insignia from TOS, now adopted as the Starfleet emblem, on the left chest. Characters also wear a black belt with a buckle shaped like the Starfleet arrowhead.
Security and engineering personnel wear armor and radiation suits, respectively, similar to those worn in The Motion Picture, although security guards wear a red, turtle-necked uniform underneath (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
). The engineering radiation suits have a colored collar ("Star Trek II"): black indicates officer, red indicates cadet. There is also a field jacket for away missions with several large pockets, arm patches, white ribbing and a large white turnover collar. Starfleet cadets in The Wrath of Khan wear the same uniforms as officers, but with bright red undershirts and a red shoulder strap instead of one indicating department.
Enlisted personnel wear a one-piece red jumpsuit (similar color as the officer uniform) with tan shoulders and upper chest and black undershirts. Enlisted trainees wore the same uniform, substituting the black undershirt for a red one. (Star Trek II).
Uniforms similar to this style are still in use at least as late as the 2340s, although without the turtle-neck or belt (TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise
Yesterday's Enterprise
"Yesterday's Enterprise" is the fifteenth episode of the third season of the science fiction television show Star Trek: The Next Generation. The episode first aired in syndication the week of February 19, 1990...
", "Dark Page", "Family, "Violations"). The TNG episode "Cause and Effect" shows that they were in use as early as 2278.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
The Starfleet officers and crewmembers seen in The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
wear a jumpsuit with a Starfleet communicator badge
Communicator (Star Trek)
Communicators are devices used for voice communication in the fictional universe of Star Trek. They allow direct contact between individuals or via a ship's communication system....
(or 'commbadge' as it was sometimes called) on the left chest and rank insignia on the right side of the collar. The uniforms' sleeves and abdominal area are colored to indicate the individual's branch, with red indicating command and helm; gold for engineering, security, and operations; and blue for science and medical (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint"). The division colors for command and operations switched from those used in Enterprise and TOS as Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Sisko
Benjamin Lafayette Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, is the main character of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Early life and career:...
tells Julian Bashir
Julian Bashir
Lieutenant Julian Subatoi Bashir, M.D., played by Alexander Siddig, is a main character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bashir is the chief medical officer of space station Deep Space Nine and the USS Defiant.-Overview:...
in the DS9 episode: "Trials and Tribble-ations". In early episodes some crew members, male and female, can be seen wearing a tunic version of the uniform with bare legs and boots,an homage to the women's uniforms in TOS.
Beverly Crusher
Beverly Crusher
Commander Beverly Crusher, M.D. , played by actress Gates McFadden, is a fictional character on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and its subsequent spinoff films...
sometimes wears a blue labcoat above her standard uniform (TNG: "The Naked Now"). The blue tended to appear teal under certain lighting conditions in the later seasons and subsequent spinoffs. In some episodes of the later seasons, Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
would sometimes wear a different uniform that consisted of a grey shirt with ribbed black shoulders and collar with a "bomber jacket" that was red overall with black ribbed shoulders, often worn open or very loosely fastened. The uniforms could be fitted with pouches for carrying tricorder
Tricorder
In the fictional Star Trek universe, a tricorder is a multifunction handheld device used for sensor scanning, data analysis, and recording data.Three primary variants of the tricorder are issued in Star Trek's Starfleet...
s and Type 2 phasers on the waist, and the early versions had a small pocket built in on the left side of the waist for carrying a smaller Type 1 phaser when appearing openly armed was not desired. The removable gear pouches were also incorporated into the uniforms used in DS9 and the TNG-era films from First Contact onward.
In the show's early seasons, the uniforms were one-piece jumpsuits made of Spandex
Spandex
Spandex or elastane is a synthetic fibre known for its exceptional elasticity. It is strong, but less durable than natural Latex, its major non-synthetic competitor. It is a polyurethane-polyurea copolymer that was co-invented in 1959 by chemists C. L. Sandquist and Joseph Shivers at DuPont's...
, and sized slightly too small so that they would be stretched when worn and provide a smooth appearance. The cast disliked the uniforms' painfully tight fit and lack of pockets, and after doctors warned that they risked permanent skeletal injury, the actors persuaded the costumers to gradually replace them with wool uniforms. The wool uniforms, which most main cast members wear from the third season onward, are two-piece (shirt and pants) designs that lack colored piping on the shoulders and edges of the pant leg cuffs and have a raised collar. The collar of the shirt has a colored edge of a width similar to that of the original diamond-shaped shoulder piping. The spandex uniforms continued to make appearances throughout TNG, usually worn by extras
Extra (actor)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
in various scenes. These were later altered to lack the piping on the shoulders and trouser hems and include a raised collar as a cost-cutting measure.
Admirals wore numerous different uniform variations in the early years of TNG - beginning in the sixth season, a final design was settled on, featuring an untucked jacket with gold piping along a centered enclosure on the front, and rank pips (indicating the number of "stars"), encased in a gold square, on both sides of the collar.
The TNG dress uniform, which continued to be used in Deep Space Nine and Voyager, is a colored wraparound robe-like coat of a solid division color, save for black shoulders. The edges of the robe-like coats are piped in silver for field officers and in gold for flag officers.
Other uniform designs appeared briefly in individual episodes - always following the theme of a coloured or differentiated shoulder yoke. Examples include cadet uniforms in several episodes (including "The First Duty"). Wesley Crusher's 'Acting Ensign' grey costume was never specifically identified as a uniform, but it also exhibited a shoulder yoke design.
Theiss, the costume designer from the original series, returned to design the initial TNG uniforms. The costumes adopted from season 3 onwards and later series' costumes were designed by Robert Blackman.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
introduced a new style of uniform that appeared to run in parallel to the one seen on TNG. The new uniform comprised a single-piece open-necked jumpsuit with the colored and black areas reversed (in other words, black torso and colored shoulders). A grey turtleneck was added (though the lighting tended to give the grey a slightly purple appearance), to which rank pips are affixed. The character of Major Kira wore an orange (the Bajoran command colour) jumpsuit over a white undershirt/blouse with Bajoran symbols that indicated her rank. This was because she was not a member of Starfleet but rather the Bajoran liaison to Deep Space 9. She retained this uniform (and a blue dress version) until she took command of the station at the end of the series, when she switched to the gray over-all over traditional uniform that had become standard by that time. Security Chief Odo also wore a brown Bajoran security uniform, as he was also not a member of Starfleet.
The station's crew still wear TNG style dress uniforms (DS9: "Move Along Home"), and both TNG- and DS9-style uniforms appear side by side in TNG
Emissary (DS9 episode)
"Emissary" is the 1st and 2nd episodes, comprising the pilot, of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Overview:...
".
Throughout the run of DS9, ship-based Starfleet personnel continue to wear the old TNG uniform design. The new design may therefore have been intended as an alternate 'class' of uniform for the different environment of the space station, as in a scene in "The Maquis, Part I" Commander Sisko can be seen wearing the new style uniform while Commander Hudson can be seen wearing the old style. Sisko also wore the TNG uniform on certain formal occasions and during his first arrival at DS9. He would revert to this uniform again when he was temporarily given the duties of "Head of Security" for Starfleet Headquarters. Admirals also retained the TNG style.
Following the release of Star Trek: First Contact, the new grey movie uniform design also appeared in DS9s fifth season and for the remainder of the series.
Star Trek: Generations New uniforms were designed and made for the movie Star Trek Generations, but were abandoned at the last minute. Nonetheless, Playmates launched a number of action figures, wearing these planned uniforms. Generations has the crew wearing both TNG and DS9/VOY uniforms, sometimes in the same scene (for instance, Worf and Riker in the battle against the Duras Sisters' Bird of Prey or Data and Geordi scanning the Amargosa Observatory for trilithium).
As the movie progresses, some characters change from old to new uniform designs but also back again (such as Captain Picard in the film's final scene). This would act as an introduction of the new design as standard shipboard wear for Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
.
The new style combadge (with the gold oval background of the TNG combage replaced by a rectangular gold background with a cutout in the center) was also introduced for all uniform types, and subsequently adopted for DS9 at the beginning of its third season.
Star Trek: Voyager The crew in Star Trek: Voyager use the same uniforms seen in the early episodes of Deep Space Nine throughout the show's run. Stuck in the Delta Quadrant and out of contact with Starfleet, Unlike the Deep Space Nine crew, the Voyager crew never makes the switch to the updated uniform seen in later DS9 episodes, Although in the episode ""Message in a bottle"
Message in a Bottle (Star Trek: Voyager)
"Message in a Bottle" is a popular episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the fourteenth episode of the fourth season, which premiered January 21, 1998...
" in season 4 of the series the EMH mark II is wearing the updated "DS9" uniform. Starfleet personnel back in the Alpha Quadrant are seen wearing this uniform in later seasons of the show as well, when Voyager manages to reestablish contact with home. The crew also wears the TNG style dress uniforms (VOY: "Course: Oblivion", "Someone to Watch Over Me", "One Small Step", "Ashes to Ashes").
B'Elanna Torres
B'Elanna Torres
B'Elanna Torres is a main character in Star Trek: Voyager played by Roxann Dawson. She is portrayed as a half-human half-Klingon born in 2349 on the Federation colony Kessik IV. Torres joined the Maquis in 2370 and was serving on the Val Jean when brought to the Delta Quadrant...
is sometimes seen wearing an overcoat over her normal uniform which matches the colors of her normal uniform, but has a pocket on the right breast for carrying small tools. The jacket was used in an attempt to hide actress Roxann Dawson
Roxann Dawson
Roxann Dawson is an American actress, producer and director, best known as B'Elanna Torres on the television series Star Trek: Voyager.-Acting:...
's pregnancy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
. She wore it again when her character became pregnant, beginning in the episode "Q2".
Voyager also uses the new style combadge, and introduces a new 'provisional' rank insignia which consisted of a solid strip with varying markings to signify rank instead of the traditional pips, and were worn by the Maquis
Maquis (Star Trek)
In the American Star Trek science-fiction franchise, the Maquis are a 24th Century paramilitary organization or terrorist group first introduced in the 1994 episode "The Maquis" of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, who subsequently also appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation and...
members of Voyagers crew, since they were ineligible to wear official Starfleet ranks (see Starfleet provisional ranks and insignia for more information).
Movies from Star Trek: First Contact on and later DS9 seasons
Star Trek: First ContactStar Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: First Contact is the eighth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise, released in November 1996, by Paramount Pictures. First Contact is the first film in the franchise to feature no cast members from the original Star Trek television series of the 1960s...
introduces a new uniform style later adopted in DS9 (DS9: "Rapture"). This uniform features a colored turtleneck undertunic (with the same departmental color scheme as in earlier shows) covered by a black jacket with colored bands on the lower sleeves near the cuffs showing the wearer's division, the shoulders and upper chest of which are ribbed and made of thick, blue-grey material. The communicator badge is worn on the jacket, while rank pins are worn on the undertunic's collar. The pants are black. Star Trek: Insurrection
Star Trek: Insurrection
Star Trek: Insurrection is a 1998 American science fiction film directed by Jonathan Frakes, written by Michael Piller , and with music composed by Jerry Goldsmith. It is the ninth film in the Star Trek franchise, and the third to feature the cast from the television series Star Trek: The Next...
also introduced a new dress uniform; It consisted of a white coat and black pants both with gold trim, a gray ribbed tunic (white tunic for flag officers and captains), and rank insignia on the collar of the tunic with the combadge worn in the customary location on the coat. Unlike the previous uniform, it was the same color regardless of the wearer's division, save for colored bands on the lower sleeves like the standard uniform. It also appeared in the DS9 episode "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges". Captains also had the option of a more casual uniform vest of the same basic design, though the blue-grey yoke extended much lower.
Ancillary uniform
Starfleet personnel fighting in ground battles appear in the DS9 episodes "...Nor the Battle to the Strong" and "The Siege of AR-558". They wear one-piece black uniforms with divisional stripes across the chest.Alternative futures
In the TNG episode "All Good Things...", an alternate timeline showed a uniform with the full color shirt (including shoulders). The same colors were used and the rank insignia would be shown above the right breast over a black line which cut off the shoulder area. These uniforms would also make an appearance in the Star Trek: Deep Space NineStar Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
episode "The Visitor" and the Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
episode "Endgame". These episodes also included a new combadge design where the starfleet arrow was just an outline. This badge was also worn by Geordi La Forge in the Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
episode "Timeless" but on the gray shoulder uniform used in the TNG movies and later DS9 (this episode is not as far in the future as the others).
Alternative presents
The Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
episode "Parallels" used an alternate combadge design where rank was denoted by the number of bars behind the arrowhead.
Star Trek: Enterprise
In EnterpriseStar Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
, field officers and crewmembers wear duty uniforms consisting of a dark long-sleeved undershirt and blue jumpsuit with colored piping around the shoulders and, often, baseball caps. There is also a desert uniform with khaki pants and white shirt. Both uniforms have a United Earth Starfleet patch (featuring the stylized arrowhead emblem) on the right upper arm, and a patch left upper arm denoting the ship one is serving on.
Division colors follow the TOS scheme, with command and flight control officers wearing gold piping, engineering and security officers wearing red piping, and science, medical and communication officers wearing blue piping. Throughout the series, men and women wear the same type of uniform. Unlike the other series' uniforms, standard uniforms on Enterprise include zip-up pockets, and the undershirt is buttoned at the neck - while Gene Roddenberry had explicitly forbidden such devices as buttons and zippers on Starfleet uniforms, believing they would be obsolete in the future, designer Bob Blackman consciously used them as a way of dating the series, implying that closures Roddenberry envisioned had not been invented yet. Blackman described the jumpsuits as "more like a NASA flight suit" than the previous Starfleet costumes, and actors from other Star Trek shows envied the Enterprise actors' much more comfortable and conventional outfits.
On certain occasions, Enterprise characters wear dress uniform
Dress uniform
Dress uniform , is the most formal military uniform, typically worn at ceremonies, official receptions, and other special occasions; with order insignias and full size medals...
s similar to the blue jumpsuit, decorated with the same pattern of colored piping, but lacking the zip-up pockets and combined with a white long-sleeved undershirt and, in some cases depending on rank, a white tie
White tie
White tie is the most formal evening dress code in Western fashion. It is worn to ceremonial occasions such as state dinners in some countries, as well as to very formal balls and evening weddings...
.
Rank insignia on duty uniforms are worn on right side of shoulders only, but rank insignia on dress uniforms are worn on both sides.
Also, there are two different kinds of field jackets worn on away missions. They have zippered pockets and the same colored pipings as the jumpsuits, as well as cold weather gear, pressure suits, spacesuits, an EV undersuit, and a royal blue undergarment with slight differences on male and female garments.
During the series, T'Pol
T'Pol
Commander T'Pol is a fictional character played by Jolene Blalock in Star Trek: Enterprise. She is a Vulcan who serves as the science officer aboard the starship Enterprise.-Concept and creation:...
is almost never seen wearing the standard uniform although she is a commissioned officer in Starfleet, and often considered to be the first officer. The only times she wears the uniform is in the episode "Twilight" (featuring an alternate timeline) and briefly (as a disguise) in "Hatchery".
Star Trek (2009 film)
The 2009 Star Trek film features uniforms reminiscent of the original television series but with some cosmetic changes. The badge (already the logo of the full Starfleet instead of specific to the Enterprise), which represents the department divisions; engineering, life sciences, and communications is now a pin rather than sewn on, and is also silver instead of gold. The tops are now in two layers: a wide-collared colored over-shirt (gold, blue, or red just as in TOS) with a quilted pattern and a colored hem-line from the neck to the armpit, and a black undershirt, visually imitating the black collar of the TOS design. The over-shirt has the arrowhead pin-shape woven into the fabric. As in the original series, female officers wear skirts, some with short sleeves (seen on Lt. Uhura), others with long sleeves (as seen on some of the background extras). Many, if not all, female crew wear either black nail polish (worn by Uhura) or red nail polish, by other extras; Something not seen in any other series by uniformed officers, nor explained. Also, a number of females onboard can be seen wearing the long sleeve top and pants uniform similar to those worn in "The Cage". Unlike other Trek, this uniform is worn only aboard starships - other personnel wear black one-piece uniforms of a much more "military" appearance, while dress uniforms are red, and admirals use a design similar to that in The Motion Picture, stated by designer Michael KaplanMichael Kaplan
Michael Kaplan may refer to:* Michael Kaplan , * Michael Kaplan , American movie costume designer* Michael Kaplan, American blogger and Unicode guru...
in the book Star Trek: The Art of the Film to be a deliberate homage.