'The Ribos Operation'
Costume Design by June Hudson
One of Hudson's main tasks was to design the dress worn by Mary Tamm as new companion Romana. As Romana was more or less an alien, she couldn't just be clad in bought clothing. Hudson designed and constracted a flowing white dress with billowing sleeves, and ribbed fabric strips going down the front.
Hudson also constructed a faux-fur coat for Tamm to wear alongside the dress; in a recent interview (that I must find again), Hudson stated she went shopping for the fabric in London.
Costume Reuse note; The coat was later reworn by Jacqueline Pearce as Servalan in the Blake's 7 episode 'Weapon'.
The script indicated that the planet the serial was set on should resemble medieval Russia, with Hudson often calling this serial 'the Russian one'. This is reflected in the costume worn by Iain Cuthbertson as the conman Garron, with a furred coat and hat.
Judging by how there is a costume sketch by Hudson for the character, the Garron costume (unlike most of the serial's costumes for the guest stars) was most likely custom-made for production.
Costume Reuse note (and a rant about misinformation); Many of the costumes in 'Ribos Operation' were reused costumes from earlier productions, some of which were minimally altered by Hudson.
The robe worn by Paul Seed as the Graff Vynda-K was a robe originally designed by Anthony Mendleson for Roman Polanski's Macbeth, with Hudson only constructing a new armor vest and hat (or were these also reused and just minimally altered?), with some 'bits and pieces' left over from the original costume's construction at Bermans & Nathans.
(Hudson's line about utilizing 'bits and pieces' from Bermans was with an interview conducted by Toby Hadoke, with Hudson being present with the late makeup artist Dorka Nieradzik, who often collaborated with Hudson).
Presumably, the other costumes were also reused from earlier historical productions; one of the guards medieval tabards (as of now, I do not know which production they originally were made for) seen in this serial was reused in the final episode of Blake's 7, worn by Gareth Thomas.
However it has been a running myth that the costumes were reused from 1977 BBC adaptation of
Anna Karenina. This is
FALSE.
Anna Karenina was a 19th century production, and all the costumes reused in this serial are from productions squarely set LONG BEFORE that. The source of this misinformation originates from the fanzine In-Vision, a publication riddled with inaccuracies when it comes to Doctor Who's costume design.
For example, the same issue of In-Vision also states that Romana's fur cloak was actually donated to Hudson by a friend, despite that in a later interview about her work, Hudson says she shopped for fabrics to find Romana's cloak.
'The Pirate Planet'
Costume Design by L. Rowland-Warne
Rowland-Warne designed a new costume for Tamm to wear; like Hudson's design for the previous serial, the costumes colour-scheme mostly is white with a shiny pink top. The pink top certainly had to have been custom-made, but what about the blouse underneath? The leggings, belt and boots were presumably bought.
Rowland-Warne designed an elaborate costume for Bruce Purchase to wear as the Pirate Captain, which was also shared with the BBC's VFX Department for the 'hard' parts of his costume. The 'costume' parts were a red fabric with black lining, and studs all over - a futuristic parody of the classic buccaneer.
The Pirate Captain's soldiers have a similar design motif with their uniforms, which consist of black tunics with leather lining coated in silver and blue studs. The uniform is completed with a helmet fabricated by the VFX Department in a similar manner to the Pirate Captain's mechanical parts.
The uniform worn by Andrew Robertson as the Captain's aide Mr. Fibuli keeps the stud motif, but otherwise is a pale gray-green uniform that resembles a Howie labcoat. Fibuli's assistants wear similar uniforms of a grey colour. I imagine these uniforms were custom-made by the Wardrobe Department, rather than being redressed Howie coats, due to the tighter cut and fabric.
Rosalind Lloyd's costume as the Captain's 'Nurse' deviates from the studded motif, being instead a custom-made futuristic white dress with black lining around the collar, worn with white thigh-high boots.
The denizens of the planet Zanak, where the story is set, all dress in wide-shouldered tabard-like robes; the tabard-like garments are worn over tops adorned with ornamentation around the sleeves and collars. David Warwick's costume as Kimus is a highlight, with studded jewels on the collar, and an orange top with red stripes.
For the bit-parts (ie in the last two images), I suspect that underneath the custom-made tabards were minimally altered stripey jumpers! The other extras were in presumably reused wardrobe stock.
The Mentiads, a group of nomadic telepaths on Zanak, wear mustard-yellow robes similar in design to the general Zanak costumes, but more tatty and slightly evoking Hindu robes. The leader Mentiads have subtle ornamentation on their collars.
(Note; I didn't include the costume briefly seen being worn by the extra playing the Zanak queen, as I suspect it was reused wardrobe stock and not made for the production.)
'The Stones of Blood'
Costume Design by Rupert Jarvis
Rupert Jarvis' only had to construct a few costumes, namely the costumes worn by Susan Engel as the intergalactic criminal Cessair of Diplos. When open on her true identity, Engel wears as shiny silvery blue dress (exposing Engel's cleavage) with ruffled panelling around the waist.
As part of her disguise on Earth consists of being the Cailleach of Celtic myth, Jarvis also had to design a costume for this too; perhaps the serial's standout costume, as the Cailleach robe consists of white feathers arranged all over, worn with a beaked mask.
The Cailleach's worshippers also adhere to the silver-grey colourscheme, wearing zip-up robes with black panelling around the hoods and collars. I feel these robes were designed and constructed by Jarvis for the serial, as they don't look like any historical monk robe as far as I know!
'The Androids of Tara'
Costume Design by Doreen James
'The Androids of Tara' was a pastiche of
The Prisoner of Zenda, so Doreen James' costume designs took on an anachronistic spin on 19th century military uniforms and fashion. Mary Tamm's first costume as Romana is a good example, being a deep purple riding suit with green trim, worn with a brimmed hat and green trousers.
Romana's second dress errs more on the 'space age' futuristic side, being a golden-tinged purple dress, with a golden wide-collared cape.
A deep plum hussar-style tunic and cape was made for Peter Jeffrey as Count Grendel, with a helmet fabricated by the VFX Department; the tunic and cape are both adorned with silver lining.
A similar uniform is worn by Martin Matthews' as Grendel's lieutenant Kurster consisting of a burgendy tunic with silver lining, the silver lining in a different pattern.
The soldiers under Grendel's command wear pale blue uniforms with red and black lining, evoking the uniform on Grendel's lieutenant. I assume the helmets were made by the prop department (or at least a freelance firm).
Costume Reuse note; The helmets were reused in the later Doctor Who serial 'Battlefield' over a decade later.
A futuristic shirt was made for Lois Baxter as Lamia, being a grey top with lining around the bottom and shoulders, with two pockets similar to a hoodie's. I'm not sure if the other components of the costume, such as the shirt and skirt, were wardrobe stock or note.
I suspect that Baxter's other costume as Lamia *was* wardrobe stock reuse, as it looks merely like a kaftan. I also suspect that Declan Mulholland's costume as the peasant Till was also costume reuse, as it looks like a typical peasant garment. I could be wrong!
At least two costumes were made for Neville Jason as Prince Reynart. The first costume is a maroon smock with pink lining around the collar and cuffs, slightly evoking 19th century Russian clothing.
The second Reynart costume is a golden jacket with curved panelling on the shoulders and chest, and is briefly worn with a golden turban-like hat that is rarely seen in the actual serial. According to a Bonhams auction listing, this jacket was made by costume maker Susanna Wilson.
A similarly anachronistic costume was made for Simon Lack as Reynart's aide Zadek, consisting of a black tunic with striped red panelling down the sides and on the shoulders.
Another futuristic spin on hussar uniforms was made for Paul Lavers as Farrah, another of Reynart's allies. The tunic follows the usual Napoleonic design, but with shiny gold panelling and rectangular segments on the side.
More costumes were made for the extras playing Reynart's soldiers; similar in design to the Grendel soldier uniforms, but in beige with black panelling instead. Not sure if the helmets were made by the prop department for this serial, or were reused from another production.
The most colourful of Doreen James' costume designs for the serial was the hat and robe worn by Cyril Shaps as the 'Archimandrite'. The Archimandrite costume consisted of an orange robe with golden lining around the collar, worn with a cape made of a multicolourd fabrics.
The costume's most eyecatching element is the rainbow-coloured hats worn with it; the first hat is a cylindrical design, with strips of fabric separated by golden trim, and the second hat is a skullcap like design with a similar colourscheme.
The ushers during the coronation scene are barely seen in the actual episode; a shame as their costumes are just as, if not even more colourful as the Archimandrites, consisting of robes with panels of coloured fabric around the chest, and worn with similar colourful skullcaps.
(The extras in the coronation scene were all clad in wardrobe stock from period productions)
'The Power of Kroll'
Costume Design by Colin Lavers
Colin Lavers' first duty was to fabricate a new coat for Tom Baker to wear as the Doctor; the serial required several days of location filming in a marsh, meaning the original costume would end up getting wet and dirty.
The new coat had a much looser coat, with upright collars; at least two coats were made, as Lalla Ward would briefly wear the stunt double in the next season's serial 'Destiny of the Daleks', in the same shots as Baker wearing the 'hero' coat. Lavers' new coat would be worn throughout almost all of the following season.
I feel that the red and black jacket worn by Mary Tamm in this serial was designed and custom-made by Lavers, rather than a bought item; I could be wrong, but it does look a little similar to the serial's 'futuristic' costumes. The boots, black jumper and leggings were no doubt bought.
A set of blue and white futuristic uniforms were made for the production, worn by the various actors playing the marsh refinery's crew; the uniforms are a classic space age design, with a white panel down the front and back.
A less detailed and drab grey tunic and pants were also made, worn by the one 'Swampie' crewman; the more dull uniform indicating the character's lowly status.
A more subtly futuristic costume was custom-made for Glyn Owen as the gun-runner Rohm-Dutt; for the longest time I assumed it was just a bought safari jacket, but notice the overly large bottom pockets, the sloping chest pockets, and the odd collar design? It's hard to tell thanks to the ammo belts!
In an interview with Doctor Who Magazine, Colin Lavers stated this costume was designed and made specifically for the serial - so it was not merely an altered existing item either.
A set of 'alien' tribal costumes were made for the native 'Swampies'; the tribesmen wear patterned belts and collar pieces, while John Abineri sports furs and sash as the tribal leader Ranquin.
'The Armageddon Factor'
Costume Design by Michael Burdle
A new costume was designed and made by Burdle for Mary Tamm in this serial; echoing the all-white costume Romana wore in 'The Ribos Operation', this new look was a frilly-sleeved dress with a deep collar, giving Romana a slightly ethereal or angelic feeling. The boots no doubt were bought.
A futuristic gown was designed and made for Lalla Ward as Princess Astra; the lilac gown has angular panelling around the shoulders, with a yellow cape fixed to the shoulders. Ward would briefly wear the costume again in the following season's 'Destiny of the Daleks'.
The angular panelling design element was carried to the other costumes Burdle designed for the serial, such as the uniforms of Atrios' military. John Woodvine wears a red uniform with gold-lined panelling as 'the Marshal', with the troops under him wearing silvery-grey zip-up tunics with similarly cut panelling.
(The extras playing assorted crewman wear grey onesies, with again angular panelling quickly cut and worn with them. The onesies were, I'm fairly sure, bought items, and so aren't included.)
Costume Reuse note; Barry Jackson (as 'Drax) is wearing Eckersley's jumpsuit originally made for the earlier serial 'Monster of Peladon'. Two costumes from 'The Invisible Enemy' also appear in a fake movie at the start of 'Armageddon Factor's first episode.
One more costume was most likely made for Valentine Dyall as 'the Black Guardian', even if his costume is all-white here! The robe has angular panelling around the shoulders, being similar to the futuristic robes Burdles designed for the Doctor Who serial 'Colony in Space' a few years earlier.
I have neglected to include 'the Shadow' and his minions, as they are most likelty borrowed clergy and monk habits from wardrobe stock (the Shadow himself wears a livery collar!) with balaclavas that had had skull masks quickly stuck on them!
