Why Barbara Luna wore a bikini in Mirror, Mirror

Barbara Luna had a different outfit to wear

“Mirror, Mirror,” the fourth episode of the second season of Star Trek: The Original Series, is inarguably one of the most popular. It launched the famed “Mirror Universe” which returned in additional Star Trek series, giving fans a glimpse of the darker side of their favorite characters. “Mirror, Mirror” also introduced fans to Lt. Marlena Moreau, played by Barbara Luna.

In this universe, the women’s costumes were made to be skimpy, but sometimes, the costume designer had to be a little creative even with the smallest amount of material. But even that creativity couldn’t work for Luna when it came time to film a kissing scenes with William Shatner.

Barbara Luna’s illness necessitated a wardrobe change

According to Luna, in an interview with Startrek.com, after four days of filming the episode, she woke up extremely ill, with a high fever and a sore throat. She went to work anyway and was sent to the medic. As the only scene Luna had left to film was a kissing scene with Shatner, she was sent home to recuperate while filming continued for other scenes.

Approximately a month later, Luna returned to the set to complete filming, wearing the outfit designed for the scene. But she’d lost several pounds while recovering from her illness, and it was clear the costume didn’t fit very well. Gene Roddenberry thought it looked awful, and the costume designer, Bill Theiss, was summoned. Thinking on his feet, Theiss switched out Luna’s costume for a bikini and a multi-colored wrap.

"Bill Theiss, the costumer, came out, and genius that he was, he put me in a bikini and wrapped this material around me. And what you see is that beautiful caftan in the cabin scene."

Of course, back then belly buttons had to remain covered, so there was no way she could have been shown in the bikini alone. But putting Luna in that wrap actually worked better to help the scene as it made her seem more at home in the captain’s cabin.