Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Costume Designer On The Elysian Kingdom's Fairy Tale Looks [Exclusive Interview]
With the second season of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" premiering on Paramount+ in mere weeks, now is a good time to rewatch the first season, including the memorable eighth episode, "The Elysian Kingdom," where the crew of the USS Enterprise finds themselves thrown into a literal fairy tale and embodying fantastical personas with no knowledge of their Starfleet selves.
The episode is enjoyable in large part because of the elaborate outfits the crew finds themselves wearing. The show's costume designer, Bernadette Croft, had a ton of fun creating new looks for the cast, including adding in a couple of Easter eggs to Pike's outfit.
"I chose a green fabric for his doublet, which was a subtle nod to the green-wrapped tunic," Croft told me in an interview about her work on the show. "He also wore a pin that represented that he was the king's advisor and First Hand. This star motif is actually the Starfleet command symbol just turned upside down."
Croft shared more behind-the-scenes details about working on "Strange New Worlds," including how she approached creating the "Lower Decks" uniforms in real life for the upcoming crossover episode. Read on for our full discussion.
Note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
'Fantasy in space — I can't think of a better combination, honestly'
One thing that's fun about "The Elysian Kingdom" is it continues a "Trek" tradition of having characters we all know take on different personas. This episode was especially fun because of the fairy tale element, which contrasts with the sci-fi space look. When you were pulling their garments together, did you think about that contrast? Were there any other "Trek" episodes or any other inspirations that you turned to?
First of all, this was a dream episode to design. Fantasy in space — I can't think of a better combination, honestly. There was an episode in the original series called "Shore Leave" and an episode called "Cupid" from "The Next Generation" that I watched. But honestly, I'm mainly inspired by classic films like "The Labyrinth" and "Princess Bride." I was obsessed with fantasy as a kid, so the episode was very nostalgic for me.
I am, of course, also inspired by the script. Akela Cooper and Onitra Johnson wrote such a layered and interesting story. Then I gather inspirational images, do rough sketches, look at fabrics, and then work with concept artist, Gloria Kim, to bring all these ideas to life.
The episode is about a parent letting go of their child. In this instance, it was in M'Benga, played by Babs Olusanmokun, and his daughter Rukiya, played by Sage Arrindell. Even though it was a joyful episode about the crew being stuck in this alien nebular fairy tale, the underlying themes were quite heartbreaking.
Bernadette Croft/Paramount+
I wanted to design the costumes through the eyes and imagination of Rukiya, who is the heart of the story. In particular, I wanted to respectfully celebrate African culture and royalty. King Ridley, who's M'Benga, has a Nigerian-inspired costume with a 3D-printed crown and fabric. His coral necklaces are a symbol of power, wealth, royalty, and beauty in West African culture. Then Rukiya's costume also included a beaded necklace and belt in honor of her heritage, which was made by our key textile artist, Anna Pantcheva. Rukiya's dress was this organza that had this plastic weft through it, which gave the fabric a lot of body and shine. Then Anna ombre-dipped the fabric, giving this magical mirage look of an orange desert sand and a vibrant blue sky.
'She was not a diva, I'll tell you that. She responds well with treats'
That's wonderful. Another thing that was interesting is how the personas were so different from the actors' usual characters. Pike [played by Anson Mount], I think, is probably the quintessential example: Pike's very serious, and his fairy tale persona is this foppish, cowardly guy. When you were putting together his costume in particular, did you try to reflect the nature of that persona?
It was just so fun seeing our Starfleet officers in looks that were out of this world, completely different from the characters they usually portray. Pike — he's our stoic captain. He's cool under pressure. He leads his team with compassion and confidence, and he normally wears his gold tunic when he captains the ship. From time to time, he wears that green wrap tunic inspired by the one William Shatner [wore] in the original series.
Pike's fantasy character was this weak, conniving Sir Armand Roth, so it was just so funny to see Anson Mount's portrayal of that. I chose a green fabric for his doublet, which was a subtle nod to the green-wrapped tunic. He also wore a pin that represented that he was the king's advisor and First Hand. This star motif is actually the Starfleet command symbol just turned upside down.
Bernadette Croft/Paramount+
It's little moments like that [where] we love to incorporate little special key features for the audience. And who else? Chrissy Chong's character — she's normally this no fuss, strict security officer, La'an Noonien-Singh, and her fantasy character, Princess Talia, was this graceful, whimsical airhead, and her dog was Chrissy's real-life pup, Runa, so it was extra special to make Runa a matching princess gown. We took her measurements and we had several adorable fittings with her.
How did the dog handle the fittings?
Oh my God, she was not a diva, I'll tell you that. She responds well with treats.
As we all do.
Yeah. She was the ultimate professional performer. She just brings such love and energy and joy, and everyone just loves her. It's awesome that Chrissy brings her to set. I hope she appears again. We can put a little alien mask on her or something, change her look a bit. That could be cute.
'There are about 150 pieces that make up the Crimson Guard armor ...'
That'd be adorable, for sure. And I'm sure things must have been fun on set. Did any actors have any specific requests or thoughts about their costumes?
We were all pretty giddy with excitement. There was schooling involved. Often our prep time is just two weeks for an episode, and I was lucky that the writers gave me the heads-up about this episode well in advance so I could infuse as much detail as possible. Actors did get a sneak peek at the designs earlier than normal, and they were all thrilled. The great thing about our cast is that they are incredibly collaborative with all the departments and there's a lot of trust there. We just work as a team. Every character on the show is a team effort. We all contribute equally, I would say.
Costumes, they are such an integral part of filmmaking, and often the actors do find their character through costume. The only feedback really that we got was practical things about movement. Melissa Navia, for instance, who played Sir Adya, had to wield the sword. She had to fight, she had to perform stunts, so we had to make sure that she had enough room in the arms of her jacket and that it wasn't too long or cumbersome, because she's actually in real life so petite. It's just practical things like that we took on board.
You already shared some fun little tidbits, but are there any other little details that you think Trekkies would love to know?
Alex Silverberg is our key sculptor and he hand-sculpted the dragon pauldrons on the Crimson Guard armor. On a "Star Trek" show, we get to use incredible processes like 3D printing, but there is a certain magical charm and organic quality that building something like that from hand brings to the show.
I love mixing both processes, especially if we have the time, and that we can highlight Alex's insane talent. That was really cool. He actually molded the ones everyone's wearing from a foam rubber, so they were soft and not heavy and cumbersome on set, especially for stunts and stuff. The piece looked like it had sharp edges. But it was close to people's faces so we had to make sure it was safe for those stunt sequences. There are about 150 pieces that make up the Crimson Guard armor and everything was custom-built by our special effects team that's led by the incredible Jennifer M. Johnson. It was just a very labor-intensive episode, but we were just so happy working on it.
Bernadette Croft/Paramount+
One costume we haven't touched on is Celia [Rose Gooding's], Uhura's, gown because her outfit is very elaborate and from a layperson looking at it, I'm like, "Wow, that must have taken a lot." I would love to hear how that came together.
Celia's fittings are always so lively and fun. She's someone who puts on the costume and struts around and gets us all going. She put on those finger ornaments and the jewelry and she just embodies the character so effortlessly. Our set team looks after the costume, so they make sure the continuity's correct. They make sure the actors are comfortable. Instead of wearing all that stuff for 12 hours a day, in between scenes, they help take elements off so the actors can kind of relax because they really do have to conserve their energy, especially on those long shooting days. Our set team makes sure all the elements are kept together and they're not lost in everything. There are a lot of pieces that they track and they do all the last-minute touches, they make repairs. It's definitely a team effort.
'I was very curious to see how purple we were going to go with Boimler's hair'
I also want to talk a little bit about season 2 of "Strange New Worlds." I know you can't give me details, but everyone knows there's going to be a crossover episode with "Lower Decks" and the animated characters are going to show up in live-action. What was it like taking uniforms that were animated and making tactile versions of them?
I am a huge fan of "Lower Decks." It's my favorite show. I love the friendship and camaraderie/rivalry of Mariner and Boimler, so it was so fun to build these costumes for Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid. And yeah, we had to take into consideration that they're coming from this 2D world, and that their uniforms should make sense in the "Strange New World" universe as well. They just had to be a hybrid.
The key things to consider were: Were we going to use microprint on the uniforms? Should the fabric and colors be the same as the "Strange New Worlds" uniforms? Interestingly, when you see the animation, the color of the pants is charcoal, they're not black. And also, the soles of the boots have this distinct logo. Even the way Mariner wears her uniform in this nonchalant way, she has her sleeves rolled — these are all very important references for me and I always had to take note of those particular things.
I was very curious to see how purple we were going to go with Boimler's hair. They tested a few options, which was really interesting. Throughout prep, we consulted with the "Lower Decks" showrunner Mike McMahan. He had to be involved to help us balance all of these elements so that it made sense for both shows. I cannot wait for this episode. I've seen it and it's so funny.
'We're really excited about season 2 and, at the moment, prepping for season 3'
I also want to talk a little bit about the "Strange New Worlds" uniforms. We don't see much of them in "Elysian Kingdom," but I feel like the uniforms are so important for every costume designer on a "Trek" show. I know the "Strange New World" ones have gotten a lot of deserved praise, particularly with the microprint of the insignia on the shoulders and elsewhere. How did that look come about?
It is a huge honor to contribute to canon in this way. There's 57 years of content, and so I just know how important the uniforms were for the show. I can't take credit for the microprint. We were initially going to do a Delta microprint, which was in cadence with the "Star Trek: Discovery" uniforms, which were costume designed by Gersha Phillips. When we were in prep, I asked our digital costumer, Jen Bowen, to digitize the Delta into a micro pattern to get ready for printing. I also had her do a few extra textures that would come in handy for episodes to come. And she just included the department symbol microprint as part of that collection. I was just like, "This is so perfect. Let's incorporate this into the uniforms. Jen Bowen, you're a genius."
The best part of the job is working with this talented team. I do favor a collaborative environment. All ideas are considered. And the team, they inspire me with their skill and I just love showing off. We were lucky to receive three CAFTCAD [The Canadian Alliance of Film and Television Costume Arts & Design] awards this year for our work on "The Elysian Kingdom," so I'm very proud and honored to work with this team. We're really excited about season 2 and, at the moment, prepping for season 3. So much good "Trek" coming your way.
The first season of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" is available on Paramount+. Season 2 of the show premieres on the streaming platform on June 15, 2023.