Costume designer Michael Kaplan spills the bean on his work for the highly-anticipated 'Star Trek', discussing on the newer version of the crew's uniform.
- Feb 28, 2009
AceShowbiz - The newer design of U.S.S. Enterprise crew members' uniforms in "Star Trek" will be more sophisticated than the one seen in the original TV series, but still stay true to it. In an interview with ScFi Now, costume designer Michael Kaplan reveals the matter, saying, "I told [J.J. Abrams] it would be really fun to create a whole new world, yet do an homage to the TV show, because that's where our world in Star Trek would end."
"There were certain things we wanted to be recognizable. Updated, but not done away with, like the Enterprise costumes," the veteran designer explains further. "There's a '60s sensibility I thought was important to keep intact. It was really about finding a balance. I would do some sketching and say, 'I love this costume idea, but it doesn't feel like Star Trek,' and we would abandon it."
Having that said, Kaplan furthermore talks about how he puts together the uniform. "I wanted to do something more sophisticated than they had done on the TV series, so I created a new fabric where a pattern of the boomerang logo was utilized," he reveals. "You'll also see that there is now a black shirt that's a part of the uniform."
Comparing the new design with the old one, he continues, "Back on the TV show, it was all one piece. ... It made sense to me that the uniform would have an undershirt, and that it would still be consistent. The shirt is a dark charcoal gray, as are the pants, and the color of the jumpers describe what that person's job is." More on the interview with Michael Kaplan can be read in the latest issue of SciFi Now, which is already available for purchase.
To start with the time Federation starship U.S.S. Kelvin is being attacked by a vicious Romulan, "Star Trek" will chronicle the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow U.S.S. Enterprise crew members during their time at Starfleet Academy. Putting together Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, John Cho, Karl Urban and Zoe Saldana among others as the young Enterprise crew, it also sets Eric Bana as villainous Nero and sees Leonard Nimoy taking the role of older Spock. Paramount Pictures will distribute the film across the U.S. on May 8.
