Bernadette Croft: The Starfleet Uniforms of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

When the 11th Star Trek series, Strange New Worlds debuted in 2022, its familiar episodic format and the return of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) and its crew had the fans absolutely delighted by the nostalgia that had been modernized in a respectful and authentic way–especially in terms of costumes. While Star Trek: Discovery adopted darker tones for its Starfleet uniforms, Strange New Worlds went back to basics–taking the primary colors of The Original Series (TOS) and reinventing the retro-futuristic 1960s designs. After assisting Gersha Phillips on Discovery, Bernadette Croft was given the lifetime opportunity of leading the costume department for Strange New Worlds. She revealed the process for creating the vibrant designs for the show’s many Starfleet uniforms–diving into the importance of finding the right color palettes, microprints, and offering a variety of style options for the cast to express their character personalities.

As a sort of transitional look, Season Two of Discovery provided a glimpse of the Enterprise’s uniforms that eventually evolved into what we see now in Strange New Worlds. Captain Pike, Spock, and the rest of the crew sported essentially a color-modified version of Discovery’s uniforms. However, for Strange New Worlds, Bernadette Croft had to find a middle ground–fusing together William Ware Theiss’ iconic looks of TOS and Gersha Phillips’ designs for Discovery, while creating something unique that will forever identify the new show. Croft said, “We definitely lean more into the nostalgia of TOS. It was interesting to go on that journey, looking at how simple yet effective the TOS uniforms were for audiences; I think it’s a touchstone for our cultural identity. We wanted to have that simplicity in the Strange New Worlds uniforms. It was really important to still bring in elements from Discovery considering that’s still very much in our canon and in our timeline, so it was more about the tailoring, the fabrics, the construction techniques, and the silhouette.”

One of the most crucial details that had to be nailed by Strange New Worlds’ costume department were the Starfleet department colors. It is quintessentially one of the main aspects that visually defines each Star Trek show, which for Strange New Worlds had to line up with The Original Series being chronologically set ten years prior to Kirk’s Enterprise. “We went down this rabbit hole and tested so many combinations of these three colors–the command gold, the science blue, and the engineering/security red. We did rich dark tones, we did light bright tones, but in the end, we found a beautiful combination that looked really great on [production designer] Jonathan Lee’s beautiful sets and on our actors’ skin tones … we wanted to make sure everyone looked their best. Our Pantone colors are: medical blue is Blue Heaven; our red is called Pomegranate; our gold is Chai Tea; and our blue is Duck Denim. We just wanted to have the colors be vibrant but grounded,” Croft revealed.

Colors nailed, Croft’s team began the process of incorporating certain elements to differentiate the Strange New Worlds Starfleet uniforms from Discovery, almost completely restructuring the main design, from replacing the wrap high collar with a more informal v-neck to incorporating a subtle microprint on the sleeves showcasing each division logo–truly elevating the production value for Trek audiences. However, what really sets Strange New Worlds apart from Discovery is the variety of Starfleet uniform options that the cast could choose from, whether to better identify with the character or feel more comfortable–each one manufactured to be durable and allow for a high range of motion. “We chose a poly knit fabric bonded with a microfleece which kind of just gives it a bit of body, and it means it’s less likely to crease and cause wrinkles. We wanted the uniforms to look really sleek and smooth and, you know, in two hundred years, I think we’ll probably be printing our clothes, so we had to make sure it had that kind of look about it. It’s stain resistant, and it’s got a 4-way stretch. So, for all of those stunts it’s really comfortable for the actors to wear.” Croft added, “Interestingly, everyone has about eight uniforms in their show closet … we rotate them just so the wear and tear remains even, and if something starts looking a little bit tired, we keep adding to their closet. If there’s particular stunts where you might need to have a harness underneath or stunt pads to protect yourself from falls, we definitely make a new uniform that will allow to wear all that stuff underneath–so it’s a little bit bigger or we’ll make a gusset in the arm pull, which gives it a little bit more room. There’s a few tricks that we do to make sure everything feels good, and it’s practical for the movement.”

Another set of amazing costumes are Starfleet’s away mission apparel. Although the field jackets (inspired by The Cage, Star Trek’s original pilot featuring Captain Pike) were fun to update for Strange New Worlds, Croft admitted the most challenging designs to fabricate were the tactical suits: “That was a really big design process because all of the armor was custom made. It took about three days to build and fit each armor. We’ve got the black jumpsuit underlay with the deltas microprint and rubber patches and then the actual armor pieces. Everything has got layers of foiled leather and different fabrics to create those textures. It’s always great to see a little bit of shine in dark sets, so something like the metallic chest plate that reflects the department color just adds that moodiness. I love those costumes.”

Season Three of Strange New Worlds just wrapped production, but fans will have to wait until next year to experience new episodes. To sort of quench the thirst for what’s to come, Bernadette Croft teased that this is their best season yet for costumes, and the latest promo shot is the living proof of that: “The burnt orange hazmat suit is directly inspired by the ones in TOS … they were really big and had these sparkly silver circles. Our version is a silicon 3-D print; the silicon rises with heat and gives it that texture. I’m looking forward to showing that and so much more in Season Three. It’s gonna be dynamite!” The Strange New Worlds Starfleet uniforms only make one half of the incredible costumes Bernadette Croft and her team created for the show, so if you want more behind-the-scenes insights, make sure to follow Bernadette Croft on Instagram.

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