Star Trek is known for its uniforms but where does Strange New Worlds rank?
Star Trek is known as much for its uniforms as its aliens. The uniforms in Star Trek are, to put it bluntly, simply iconic. Very few science fiction series have nailed the uniforms as well as Star Trek has done.
And they did it again with Strange New Worlds, another example of great costuming in the franchise. Yet, where do they all rank?
For simplicity’s sake, let’s look at the candidates starting with the series. We have the original series, with their gold blue, and red shirts and dresses. Then we have The Next Generation era uniforms, which also bled into Voyager and Deep Space Nine. Then we have the First Contact uniforms which also were used in Voyager and Deep Space Nine. For the sake of things, we’re just going to call them the 90’s black jumpers and the 90s grey jumpers.
Then we have the blue jumpsuits of Enterprise, the blue and gold jumpsuits of Discovery, then we have the more traditional colored uniforms from after their time jump. We have the more condensed black uniforms seen in Picard, the more traditional ones used in Lower Decks, and the cadet suits from Prodigy.
We’re also going to be ranking the white and grey uniforms from The Motion Picture and the subsequent films’ red jacket uniforms.
This is a personal opinion list, you’ll have your own and we’d love to hear from you but be mindful that this is our list.
Ranking the uniforms of Strange New Worlds and the rest of Star Trek
12. Discovery’s Blue and Gold Jumpsuits
The worst of the worst, they look simple and unordinary. It was fine when Enterprise did it, as they had a budget that totaled an old shoe book and some crayons, but Discovery had hundreds of millions of dollars for its first season. Yes, they tried to pay homage to a point of the Enterprise uniforms but that’s part of the issue. They weren’t very good either, and it felt less like an homage than an uncreative re-imagining.
11. Enterprise’s Blue Jumpsuits
The section colors of the Starfleet uniforms are the best part of the uniforms, and Enterprise just teased us with them. I love Enterprise, personal top-two series, but I never liked the uniforms.
10. The Original Series’ Colored Shirts
They were a byproduct of their time. Very ordinary now and while they’re nostalgic, we’re ranking these through a modern lens. Incredibly dated for its time.
9. Discovery’s Power Ranger Look
The Discovery uniform post-time jump saw their uniforms get updated, but I agree with those that think they look like Power Rangers costumes without the helmets. Yet, my issue is the opposite, I don’t mind that they look like Power Rangers, I mind that they only kinda look like Power Rangers. Go all the way or don’t go at all.
8. Star Trek’s II-VI’s Red Jackets
The original design was great, but they used them for five movies and the novelty of them wore off. Great design but overstayed their welcome.
7. The Motion Picture Silver and Whites
Maybe it’s the novelty of how short they were around, but I really liked the white outfits. They were stylish and cool and weren’t overused to the point of exhaustion.
6. 90’s Black Jumpers
The classics. They came with the color being on the shoulders or on the body, either way, they were dope. They lasted for as long as they should’ve and then were reimagined.
5. Lower Decks’ Animated Uniforms
They updated the original jumpers from the 90s with a nice twist. These too, I feel, are very “Power Ranger-y” but I like that about them. They have a personality about them.
4. Prodigy’s Cadet Uniforms
These are simple, understated, and elegant. They have a softness to them that makes you feel warm and cozy.
3. Picard’s Black Uniforms
The show might have its detractors and for good reasons but man, their Starfleet uniforms are awesome. I thought about putting them last, simply due to the lack of the uniforms but this isn’t a list about how frequent we see them, but how great they are. So here it is.
2. 90’s Grey Jumpers
With First Contact, we saw the jumpers go from black with some color to grey and black with the officer’s undershirt serving as their division’s color.
1. Strange New Worlds Tunic’s
When it all shakes out, I think the Strange New Worlds tunics are the best. They’re classic and modern all in the same twist. They highlight the divisions of the ship beautifully and they don’t shy away from colors. And the colors are awesome.