Star Trek: Ranking Every Starfleet Uniform Worst To Best

When he was hired to work on the third season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, costume designer Robert Blackman's first assignment was to rework William Ware Theiss' original, back-breaking jumpsuits. What resulted was the second most recognizable uniform in the Star Trek franchise, next to Theiss' original 1960s costumes.

Keeping the same basic details, Blackman swapped the original lycra spandex material for wool, replaced the crewneck with a mandarin collar, and broke the uniform into two pieces, now a jacket and trousers. These simple edits cemented The Next Generation's uniforms as a symbol of Gene Roddenberry's simultaneously comfortable and formal future and gave the cast of TNG the refined look they lacked in the original jumpsuits. While Patrick Stewart was already tugging on his seasons one and two onesie, the introduction of the revised uniform's short jacket increased the frequency of the famous "Picard Maneuver", making it another mainstay of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

These uniforms would appear in every episode TNG's third through seventh seasons as well as Star Trek Generations, before they were phased out for Blackman and Deborah Everton's First Contact-style uniforms. They would also see continued use on both Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Voyager when the crews made it back to Earth.

Blackman's TNG uniforms' recent use in Star Trek: Picard's first season dream sequences are another indication of just how perfectly these costumes encapsulated the Star Trek: The Next Generation-era and remain some of Star Trek's most identifiable and dashing attire.