Star Trek Every Starfleet Uniform & History Explained

Star Trek: Every Starfleet Uniform & History Explained

From the colorful tunics of Kirk and Spock all the way to the grey bodysuits of the 32nd century, we’re breaking down every Starfleet uniform.

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Star Trek’s utopian idealism may be eternal, but Starfleet’s fashion sense is in seemingly constant flux. Virtually every iteration of the franchise has featured a new uniform for its Starfleet heroes. Sometimes they come off more like superhero costumes, sometimes they seem like strict military wear, and many other times they’re somewhere in between. From Captain Kirk’s gold tunic to the sleek blue body suits of Star Trek: Discovery, there’s no shortage of iconic Starfleet uniforms.

There’s rarely an in-universe reason given for the constant costume changes in Star Trek, though the real world reason has always been to keep the franchise looking fresh and sleek, and often to echo real world fashion sense, as well as trends in sci-fi costuming. Gene Roddenberry’s original vision for Star Trek has gradually evolved as the series has grown and developed — it’s only natural that the look of the franchise, including the iconic Starfleet uniforms, would change as well.

The following discussion is a rundown of the primary Starfleet uniforms only; there are scores of variations, like dress uniforms, admiral uniforms, and away team gear. Bearing that in mind, these are all the iconic looks of the Starfleet uniform through the years.

Star Trek: Enterprise

As was appropriate for the prequel series about humanity’s first forays into deep space, Star Trek: Enterprise featured economical, functional blue jumpsuits. Colored piping on the shoulders indicated which division each crew member was a part of – gold for command, red for operations, and blue for sciences. Rank insignia were displayed on the right shoulder, with an assignment badge on the left sleeve. Unusually for Star Trek uniforms, these featured plenty of 21st century details like zippers and pockets, sometimes making Captain Archer and crew look like the galaxy’s most sophisticated janitors.

Star Trek (2009)

Featured briefly in the opening scene of J.J. Abrams first Star Trek film – with Thor’s Chris Hemsworth as George Kirk – these uniforms were something of a middle ground between the look of Enterprise and Star Trek: The Original Series. The jumpsuits were now replaced by tight fitting spandex, but still in fairly muted colors, with blue for command, gold for operations, and grey for sciences. Rank insignia was displayed on the cuffs of the sleeves.

Star Trek: Discovery

A massive departure from what came before and what would follow, Discovery’s all-blue uniforms featured a jacket and pants with striping down the sides, as well as chunky black boots. The striping on the shoulders indicated divisions – gold for command, silver for sciences, copper for operations – and the Starfleet badge worn on the right breast featured both a division symbol and rank pips. This uniform was in service at the same time as a slightly modified version of the classic TOS uniform.

Star Trek: The Original Series

Perhaps the most iconic uniforms in all of Star Trek, The Original Series’ uniforms were also perhaps the simplest. These uniforms consisted of a colorful tunic, black undershirt and black pants with black boots. Command classes wore either gold or green tunics, operations wore bright red, and sciences utilized a baby blue. Rank was displayed on the cuffs of the sleeves. This uniform also offered numerous slight variations, like Dr. McCoy’s short sleeves and Captain Kirks’ wraparound tunic, while most female crew members wore a skirt variation.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

A completely new look was introduced in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Gone were the colorful tunics of TOS, replaced by muted jumpsuits in Star Trek: The Motion Picture’s polarizing big screen debut. The variations are almost too numerous to list, but the basic look was a jumpsuit that was either blue, white, or beige, with division patch attached to the chest. The uniform also featured a life support belt, and shoes that were integrated into the trousers, creating some unfortunate footie pajama comparisons. The Motion Picture would be the only Star Trek project to utilize this style of uniform.

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan would introduce one of the longest-lived uniforms in Starfleet history. These uniforms consisted of a red jacket, white long sleeved turtleneck and black pants with red piping. It also featured the now-iconic Starfleet insignia on the left breast, as well as new rank insignia on the right shoulder. Minor variations of this uniform would be used for all of the remaining TOS cast films, and even featured in some Star Trek: The Next Generation flashbacks and time travel stories.

Star Trek: The Next Generation (Version 1)

The debut of Star Trek: The Next Generation saw the next radical reinvention of the Starfleet uniform. The uniform featured a streamlined jumpsuit design, with the pants and shoulders in black, and the torso either red for command, gold for operations, or blue for sciences. The rank insignia were displayed on the collarbone. The Starfleet combadge made its debut with this uniform – the Starfleet insignia doubled as a communication device. The TNG cast infamously hated the spandex costumes, as the way they were designed caused several cast members to have back problems, and they’d be redesigned for the show’s third season.

Star Trek: The Next Generation (Version 2)

Featured during seasons 3-7 of Star Trek: The Next Generation, this is perhaps the second most iconic Starfleet uniform after the colorful tunics of The Original Series. The tight bodysuit look was left behind for a gaberdine material, with raised collars and solid black belts added to the look. The rank insignia were moved up to the collar, and the shoulder piping removed. Captain Picard would wear a variation of this uniform in later seasons that featured a grey sweatshirt and a jacket with the two-toned pattern.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Deep Space Nine ditched the formality of the TNG uniforms for something darker and more utilitarian. These uniforms were largely black jumpsuits, with only the shoulders in red for command, gold for operations, and blue for sciences. The Starfleet delta symbol was slightly updated, changing the back piece from an oval to a buckle shape. A grey undershirt was utilized, and it wasn’t uncommon to see officers with their sleeves rolled up, something of a visual cue to the grittier, grimier stories DS9 intended to tell. And while tonally different, Star Trek: Voyager would use this uniform for its entire seven year run.

Star Trek: First Contact

The next major evolution of the Starfleet uniform, this version kept the basic shape of the TNG-era uniforms, though with new color variations. The uniform consisted of black pants and a black and grey jacket, with a colored shirt underneath to signify divisions, once again going with red for command, gold for operations, and blue for sciences. The rank insignia remained on the collar, though they were also added to the cuffs.

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Utilized concurrently with the uniforms introduced in First Contact – as seen during the first season finale’s heroic USS Titan moment – the Lower Decks uniforms are something of a middle ground between the look of the TNG movies and TNG the series. The division colors from TNG were maintained, though a new delta symbol with no backing was used. The uniform consisted of an angular dress shirt with black pants and boots.

Star Trek: Picard (Version 1)

The Starfleet uniforms featured in Star Trek: Picard’s flashbacks were predominantly black with colored shoulders to indicate division, still utilizing the division colors established in TNG, and with the rank insignia still on the collar. The delta insignia first seen in Deep Space Nine and First Contact was still in use as a combadge.

Star Trek: Picard (Version 2)

Extremely close to the look of the original DS9 uniforms, the Starfleet uniforms of Star Trek: Picard’s relative present were, again, mostly black, with standard TNG division colors on the shoulders and collar. The delta symbol was updated to the version glimpsed in the possible future seen in the TNG series finale “All Good Things,” and the rank insignia was moved to the chest.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3

Star Trek: Discovery’s relocation to the 32nd century brought with it yet another new Starfleet uniform. This time the uniform is largely grey, with a stripe down the left side of the uniform signifying division – red for command, gold for operations, and blue for sciences, and white for medical. The combadge is now an oval shape, and is not only a communication device, but a holographic tricorder and personal transporter as well. The rank insignia are displayed on the combadge, while captains wore additional rank insignia on their shoulders.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/star-trek-starfleet-uniform-history-every/

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