Star Trek Movie Uniform Spoilers

With JJ Abrams movie being a prequel and involving a whole new team, fans know that things are not going to look exactly like they did with The Original Series. One area of keen interest is the uniforms, especially the uniforms of the main cast worn on board the USS Enterprise, and today TrekMovie has some spoilage on just that.
[SPOILERS BELOW]


Red, Blue and Gold
For people who have been paying close attention to the various hints and comments from the cast, it should come as no surprise that the uniforms worn on board the Enterprise in the film follow the same color standard as the Original Series. The latest comment on this comes from the new James T. Kirk himself, Chris Pine, who confirmed with Hollywood Outbreak he would be wearing command gold. In the past Zoe Saldana (Uhura) has talked about her short skirt, and Anton Yelchin (Chekov) has also commented about how the crew will be wearing red, blue and gold. And the new Star Trek poster also gives some clues to the uniforms as well.

TrekMovie has talked about the uniforms with multiple sources and has confirmed that, just like on The Original Series, Scotty (Simon Pegg) and Uhura (Zoe Saldana) will be wearing red as will other actors and extras in engineering, security and communications. Spock (Zachary Quinto) and Bones (Karl Urban) will be we in Blue, as will others in science and medical. And Sulu (John Cho), Chekov (Anton Yelchin) will join Kirk (Pine) in command gold.

 
TrekMovie’s version of the new poster reveals clues to the new uniforms

New uniforms a nod to the original
According to TrekMovie sources, the Starfleet uniforms on the Enterprise are the element of this film closest to The Original Series in design. They are comprised of very dark grey (almost black) pants and boots for the men and mini skirts and boots for the women along with the previously mentioned shirts. For the women’s outfits, the mini-skirts are a bit longer than TOS and they have both short-sleeved and long-sleeved versions, and at least one female member of the crew will be wearing pants. The biggest difference with the tops is that they are comprised of two pieces, with a very dark grey (almost black) undershirt and the over shirt of the appropriate color, with a slight v-neck. The undershirt forms what looks like a black collar, similar to the TOS uniforms. As TrekMovie’s closer look at the new poster reveals (above), the colored uniform blouses have small ‘delta shield’ emblems woven into the fabric (this is most apparent on Saldana’s). Also, the shirt Chris Pine is wearing in the new poster appears to be uniform undershirt. Another change is the rank insignia which is said to be similar but more simplified in design. Lastly, the delta shield emblem is actually a pin instead of being sewn into the top, but still retains the department variations on the design. Regardless of the few differences, from a distance the new uniforms are almost indistinguishable from those of The Original Series.

Another important note, however, is that the main uniforms are only a portion of the overall wardrobe to be seen in the film. Most past films in the franchise have very little variety of wardrobe, but this new film has the biggest set of wardrobe of any Trek film, even more than Star Trek The Motion Picture. Many of the characters will be seen in both their Starfleet uniforms as well as civilian clothes. There are also Starfleet uniform variations including Academy uniforms, pressure suits, and apparently different versions of the Starfleet uniforms for some scenes set on another starship (see previous spoiler article).

So the bottom line is that on one hand the new Star Trek film will give a nod to TOS with a fairly close match, but on other hand provide a whole new set of new and interesting outfits to see our heroes save the galaxy in.
 

 


New movie honors Original TV uniforms

 

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cool

First and cool.

Cool! :)

Star Trek: The Fashion Show

Ah well, I hope the uniforms aren’t ridiculously simple – it would clash with the idea of a “revamped futuristic looking ship / bridge”

This sounds good. I like the description, but would like to examine the uniforms and other costumes… did your source show you any examples?

I think the original series also had two piece shirts if I remember correctly. Look forward to see more in depth pictures.

Thanks for the update, Anthony.

Civilian clothes, eh? I hope they’ll be cool. Also, and at the same time, I find myself hoping that the civvies will be hilariously and outrageously fugly, a la Search For Spock.

Sounds good. I prefer the patch to a pin but overall it sounds beautiful (and the delta-weave cloth is a very groovy detail).

Very much along the lines of what I expected…

It was clear from James Cawley’s visit to the set and his comments afterward, that the uniforms would be very similar but not exact replicas of the ones seen in TOS. The two-piece uniform seems much more realistic, and I am not surprised to hear that the mini-skirts are a little bit longer and that the female officers and crewmembers have a trouser option (just like in today’s service-alpha uniforms in the US Armed Forces).

It’s going to be a bit more difficult for Kirk to get his chest exposed with a dark undershirt beneath his command gold, and Uhura will have to bend farther over for us to get a peek!!!

At least we will have some surprise left over with the alternate uniforms mentioned…

#5—“Ah well, I hope the uniforms aren’t ridiculously simple – it would clash with the idea of a “revamped futuristic looking ship / bridge”

I don’t see why.

Cool. The orginal series had very little variety in uniforms. This should be interesting to see if they’ll bring back TOS versions of Movie era uniforms such as the command Bomber jacket, the Rad Suits, and the field uniform/ jackets.

This is good, modernizing the design without breaking the basic continuity.

Can’t wait to see what Rubies will bring to the table here.

I’m glad to hear this and I’m also glad they are paying attention to detail in every area; wardrobe, starships, character likeness. Can’t wait to see this new implementation of new ideas to freshen it up as well.

I kind of remember “official” books with a variety of emblems that different starships wore on their basic uniforms.

Is that what is going on here? If so, that’s cool.

“The two-piece uniform seems much more realistic”

So a shirt and an undershirt is more realistic than a shirt with a collar.

I don’t see why.

Great, the more its like TOS the happier I am. I hope those dreadfull TOS movie uniforms never show up.

BTW, Does anyone know why Picard did sport a yellow shirt in TNG?

I meant Didn’t.

I recall one of the spy pics taken on the set a few months ago – the jacket did have a delta pin on it, instead of a patch…….

4,

Male Announcer: Welcome to the annual Enterprise Command Crew Lineup, where we show you ALL of this year’s hot new fashions. This year, we’ll be seeing what tight shirts and hot bods Starfleet has to offer Seventeen-Oh-One this year.

Female Announcer: Intriguing, isn’t it? We have a great lineup for our future staff. There’s all sorts of new faces coming in. We’ll be seeing a reprise of the traditional Red, Gold, and Blue for this season and—

Male Announcer: Shut up! Shut up! Here they come! And first up, here comes James Kirk! He’s an arrogant new ensign, fresh out of Starfleet. He’s sporting the trendy tight pants and red shirt! Stay away from the away missions Jim.

Female Announcer: You said it! He is looking FINE!!!!111one Next up is Spock of Vulcan. You all know him. He’s been around with us with Captain Pike. His ears say “logic” but his face says “Hottie!” He is sporting the blue V-neck of science.

MA: Here’s Uhura, an eager young girl who majored in communications. I’ll give HER my number! She is sporting this year’s mini-skirt v-neck combo. And might I say she is looking FABULOUS! Mike to Uhura, you look great!

FA: Next in our line is our beloved doctor, Leo McCoy! Next to him is his trademark Prada Medical Tricorder. OW! Please state the nature of the medical emergency? I’m in LOVE! Scan my heart, cause when you get near, my blood pressure is 180/140! Though, theoretically with that, I should be dead.

MA: You mean you aren’t? *Gets slapped* Okay okay. Next we have McCoy’s assistant, the B-A-utiful Nurse Chapel. She’s toting her tricorder next to her, showing it off. She just transferred here recently, and she brings with her the blue version of the mini-skirt, v-neck combo. Marvelous, my dear!

FA: And last, but certainly not least, is our Chief Engineer, Monty Scott. He hails from the moors of Scotland to bring us lights and glamour every day. His dark grey pants, red shirt, and red hair are a striking and fierce combination. Warp Factor HOT on my command!

MA: That is our Enterprise Fashion Show for this year. Come back next year, when we have a whole new line of red shirts up to bat, because most of you won’t make it through the next fifteen minutes!

FA: I’ll say. You Reddies die off like flies!

[BOTH LAUGH]

MA: Well, goodnight everyone.

FA: We hope to see all of you again real soon. If you don’t die in some ridiculous way, that is.

Both: Tootles!
———
As you can see, I’ve NEVER worked in the fashion industry, nor do I plan to. I’m a doctor, dammit, not a—— *sniffs* I smell Gucci!

As a vintage clothing dealer and wardrobe collector, this is of special interest to me.

The idea of the black undershirt reminds me of the “Voyager”/”Deep Space Nine” era uniforms, with their grey undershirts, and of the “First Contact” style uniforms with the rank colored undershirts. This new design sounds very functional while still retaining the overall classic look. I hope the rest of the film follows suit (no pun intended).

Geez, is it May yet?!

*EGH*

I am very happy to hear this news. I am hoping that the cast finally gets pockets. I, for one, never understood having to strap everything you had to carry on a velcro belt. Either way, TOS fashions rule!

I’m excited to go back to a simplified world of Star Trek. Something about The Original Series made the universe seem bigger and humanity seem smaller. I like that. My favorite is Next Generation yet still I’m excited to shed all the baggage that TNG and its successors created. It’ll be a faster paced wild west adventure in space. I’m looking forward to that.

Anyway that’s what this news story made me think of.

but…but…what about ‘the cage’ uniforms in WNMHGB???

guess that could be explained away with the enterprise washing machine broke down that week so they had to break out some old uniforms in storage and wore them…then the wash machiones got fixed in time for Combomite Manouver..

plus McCoy mustve been dropped off at a starbase for WNMHGB

Not that I will be disappointed in any way to see Zoe Saldana’s legs in a mini-skirt, but I wonder how they pull a mini and boots off without appearing campy and dated. Outside of the 1960’s fashion scene, it’s difficult to imagine a military or pseudo-military agency dressing their females like Nancy Sinatra.

Having said that, I’m betting she’s got great “stems” :-)

Mini skirts….a bit longer…
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Actually, it all sounds really good.

A PIN?? The quest begins….
When they changed combadges, I became obsessed with finding/replicating one- just to be FIRST!! (Ah, geekdom.)
To me, NOTHING could be worse than season 1 & 2 of TNG. Nothing.

#!6

The uniform color scheme had changed by the time of TNG. Red was for command and Yellow was for service.

This was even mentioned in “Trials and Tribblations” when Sisko has to remember to change shirt colors.

Longer mini-skirts? I remember an early episode of The Next Generation where they showed a male crew member in a bare legged maxi-shirt, that was just as short as the original show’s female outfits. Strangely, the look wasn’t adopted by the command personnel.

21 Velcro Comment,

It’s like why Uhura touches her ear every 15 seconds. We can create starships that travel at thousands of times the speed of light, but we can’t create an earpiece that stays in while in use. It’s just a “go figure” situation. Though, you would’ve thought that they’d have figured out something other than Velcro to use in the future. But that’s just my 9 cents (accounting for inflation).

It still doesn’t explain how Spock from the future won’t notice the slight differences in the uniforms than from his memory of wearing them.

23. No offense, but it’s called a Pilot. These are shows that work out the bugs, and boy, there are plenty of ’em when you have to invent a whole new universe. You create a drama that you hope will sell, then you have to make it workable. In the mid-60’s, color television was just being introduced. That’s the reason Star Trek went psychedelic, plain and simple.
Plus, it just looks better

“#16 – BTW, Does anyone know why Picard didn’t sport a yellow shirt in TNG?”

A lot of the command/security did switch. Engineering had yellow uniforms in TNG but vice versa in TOS, etc.

#15—“So a shirt and an undershirt is more realistic than a shirt with a collar.

I don’t see why.”

Then you have obviously never served in the military, or if you have, you’ve obviously forgotten what it is like to wear a uniform in everyday practical situations.
As a combat veteran former US Marine who has served “actively’ in uniform on more occasions than I could count, trust me…It just is. It is better for the body temperature (in the heat and the cold) and keeps the outer shirt from being soiled in perspiration, which is unnecessarily unsightly and simply less comfortable in situations where the person in question is exposed to the elements, and also keeps the skin on the torso less exposed to coarse earth (like sand, for instance)one might come in contact with on the ground.

30 – yeah i was just foolin..

joking aside i remember reading an atricle or interview around the time of the original crew films where the costume designer or whoever was talking about the movie uniforms for TMP/TWOK and said something like ‘obviously we couldnt have them dashing around in the colourful tv uniforms on the big screen as although they looked great on tv theyd look outrageous on the big screen’

guess again pal (whoever you were)

#28 –

Or, to quote Frasier from an old episode of “Cheers”…

“We can put a man on the moon, but we still can’t put metal in a microwave!”

I think the question is WHY did the producers do the gold/red switch?

What was the purpose? For continuity’s sake, it makes no sense, considering the former color scheme was well known. For storytelling sake, wouldn’t it have been a difficult transition day for servicemembers? So was it deliberate? An accident? Artistic reasons? Star demand?

#19: Great job, Sharkster! I’d go to that fashion show any day.

well at least they will be like the TOS uniforms.

Here’s hoping that the sets will be paid a similar homage

BUT WHERE’S THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS PIECE, ANTHONY…?

Mainly, will we be seeing moderized versions of “The Cage”/”Where No Man Has Gone Before” era uniforms in flashbacks?

16 – are you joking? TOM (the original movies) red uniforms were great!

29 – the uniforms described here sound virtually identical to TOS ones bar a few changes (badge, collar etc) only a big fan would notice…anyway whos to say the red/blue/gold uniforms wernt slightly different just prior to TOS 5 year mission…theres always been lots of minor and major differences in the uniforms througout all incarnations of trek…(e.g. TNG – 1st/2nd seson one piece suit….then the 3rd-7th season two piece…then they wore the DS9/Voy style for Generations – but all were the same basic design of the red/blue/gold)

#32 — I’m glad someone with knowledge of the military is contributing and enlightening the rest. Thanks! And to the rest of you: think before you post. I can’t believe I’m even in the same room with you.

Seacrest out!

Do we know if the Delta will be associated with The Enterprise only?

I am wondering though, I heard this was to take place between “The Cage” and “Where no Man has Gone Before.” But in WNHGB, weren’t they still wearing the uniforms that were worn in “The Cage?” THey didn’t start wearing the more traditional uniforms until “The Corbomite Maneuver.” And I am going by Production order, not airing order. I don’t know why it was aired in such a manner, but it made no sense that way.

ok this is a bit off topic but…

regarding the gold/blue/red color scheme.

It looks to me like, starting with DS9, the blue science medical uniforms turned green. Kind of a blue green, but definitely more green than blue. They look much different than say, Dr. Crusher’s uniform in TNG. Am I color blind, or am I right???????

Make it work, people!

Continuing from 19:

TOS: Wait a minute, Denise, we have 2 late arrivals! Our chief of Astrosciences, Hikaru Sulu, and our newbie, Pavel Chekov, our navigator.

Denise: Indeed. Both are sporting the newest and latest gold-pressed uniforms. They look like latinum in THOSE outfits!

TOS: Is Sulu available?

Denise: You wish! Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll get to see him swordfight with his shirt off!

TOS: And the chances of that are….?

Denise: 3,720 to 1, the same as being able to successfully navigate an asteroid field.

TOS: Never tell me the odds!

Denise: But you just—-

TOS: Don’t care. Now, with those two trotting away, THAT ends our show. Have fun, and don’t get killed on an away mission!

Denise: Unless you’re a redshirt, then that’ll serve as a great plot device!

TOS: G’night to all!

Hopefully that other ship design outfit mentioned will be a different insignia, as in TOS.

The original shirts were one piece, not two as asked by somebody above. They did wear black t shirts under the tunic, however. It can often be seen.

I’m relatively happy… although why not just go with black pants???
My biggest gripe is the pin instead of the patch… But okay.
Now, no mention of the sleeve piping… I’m assuming the same???

And no. 43: I’ve noticed that too… more a sea foam green, and not a true blue on DS9

TOS#45- The chiffon-and-lace undershirts for the guys were a nice touch. However, do you really think stiletto-heeled boots are really practical for the ladies…

35:

I think the reason for the color switch lies in the TWOK movie era uniforms. As those were primarily red, it seems like they continued with red as command and had to switch mustard/yellow to Ship Services.

#35

I think the question is WHY did the producers do the gold/red switch?

What was the purpose? For continuity’s sake, it makes no sense, considering the former color scheme was well known. For storytelling sake, wouldn’t it have been a difficult transition day for servicemembers? So was it deliberate? An accident? Artistic reasons? Star demand?

It was probably some Red Shirt conspiracy. You remember how it was always the crewman in the red shirts to die ithe landing parties. Hey I have an idea lets swap shirts with the captain and comman crew!

I just wonder if the red shirts will live up to this old tradition? No pun intended.