Star Trek: Ranking Every Starfleet Uniform Worst To Best

With only ten minutes of screen time, Michael Kaplan's USS Kelvin uniforms from Star Trek (2009) may not have made much of a mark on the franchise. They've never recurred and never been referenced in other uniform designs, but these one-off costumes are some of the most impressive work in a film that boasts numerous remarkable 23rd century period costumes by one of Hollywood's best designers.

Fitting the 2230s era of the USS Kelvin sequence, the Kelvin uniforms were designed to reflect the 1930s sci-fi style, specifically recalling 1936's Flash Gordon. Once again rejiggering Starfleet's division colors (now teal, gold, and gray instead of gold, red, and blue), these uniforms were formfitting, almost superhero-esque in their construction – appropriate given the fact that a future Thor would rock the command division costume.

While fitting comfortably in Star Trek's in-universe timeline of fashion choices, Kaplan's Kelvin uniforms are a distinctive, wholly original costume, one of Starfleet's best aesthetic choices despite their limited appearance.