“I realized I do what my parents both do — just with fabric, not oil paint.”
It’s been just over two months since the news broke that Star Trek: Starfleet Academy would be canceled after its second season. It’s a shame because the must-see series is chalked full of incredible memories, not the least of which is Darem Reymi’s (George Hawkins) misguided wedding on Khiona’s lovely Sunset Moon.
And it turns out that the beautiful attire Darem, his bride-to-be Kaira (Jaelynn Thora Brooks), best man Jay-Den Kraag (Karim Diane), and the rest of the wedding party wear were a love letter to the artistic parents of Starfleet Academy’s costumer designer, Avery Plewes. “My starting point on the show is always starting with an alien texture and palette,” Plewes said in an interview (per Variety), which continues as follows:
"With this, it was fish-inspired because Khionians have a scaly texture, and how grand and outrageous you can make it! […] When the light hits, you get a different dimension, and light always needs somewhere to land with texture on camera for it to look cinematic. I had this moment when I was assembling that episode in the 11th hour. This episode is really a love letter to my artist family. I realized I do what my parents both do — just with fabric, not oil paint.”
“Ko’Zeine” is the seventh episode of Starfleet Academy, and in this particular installment, Jay-Den witnesses Darem being kidnapped from the Academy. The loyal Klingon cadet and classmate then follows through the same warp tunnel only to discover that the "abduction" is a really a Khionian tradition — and Darem, who was promised to Kaira years beforehand, realized what was happening.
All the actors look fantastic in Plewes’ sumptuous costumes, which were likely inspired by the script for “Ko’Zeine” more than anything else. Although, the article from Variety mentions that Plewes brought up the famed British fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen.
In a separate interview, the actor who plays Darem in “Ko’Zeine,” George Hawkins, also said the look of the Starfleet Academy episode could have been inspired by Moana: "I remember [co-showrunner] Noga [Landau] was telling me that when she was doing a bit of work for Episode 7, her children were watching Moana in the in the other room, and I can imagine that had some sort of influence on her storytelling.”
Every inspiration came together perfectly for this highly underrated episode of Starfleet Academy, which I can only hope will find a larger viewership once season 2 drops (likely in early 2027), even though the show has officially been canceled.
Share your thoughts and comments with us on the costume design in “Ko’Zeine” via the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
And be sure to check out this video from the set of Starfleet Academy, in which actor Karim Diane gives fans an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the costumes and sets created for Khionia's Sunset Moon wedding extravaganza: "Shout out to Avery," Diane says in the footage. "She nailed it!"
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!
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