Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season 7 (1993)

Costume Design by:

- Robert Blackman ( notable efforts: The Running Man (1987), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993 - 1999), Voyager (1995 - 2001), Enterprise (2001 - 2005), Pushing Daisies (2007 - 2009), Mockingbird Lane (2012) )

- Abram Waterhouse

'Interface'

The third episode of the final season of The Next Generation, this one involved Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) having to control a space probe to investigate what happened in a crashed starship, and for the job has to wear a special 'interface' suit - this consists of a grey bodysuit fixed with a bulky collar, and fitted with wiring and boxes all at various parts of the suit.

'Gambit'

This rather dark two-parter involved Picard (Patrick Stewart) disguising himself as an archaelogist in order to infiltrate a mercenary group commanded by the vicious Arctus Baran (Richard Lynch), who sports a brown bodysuit with a padded leather vest going over the top half, with similar padded segments over the knees, which are held with thick leather straps.

One of the more notable mercenaries in Baran's group is Vekor (Caitlin Brown), who wears tight leather pants with a high waist, that is fixed to a top half that is adorned with a metallic band that goes around the high waist and up to the neck, being more or less a stylized collar. This design would be sort of repeated with the uniforms of the Dosi in the Deep Space 9 episode 'Rules of Aquisition', though much more shiny in that case!

The other mercenaries are mostly in tatty brown outfits utilizing a lot of leather and vinyl in their designs, with the one notable member being Narik (Cameron Thor), who wears an asymmetrical patterned jacket, definitely a forerunner to the rather more muted but still asymmetrical designs of Deep Space 9 and Voyager.

The mercenaries are looking for pieces of an artifact, one of which is carried by another mercenary they have turned against, the Klingon Koral (James Brown), who again sports a tatty outfit of brown leather and black fur fashioned in an asymmetrical design, fixed with the usual wristguards typical of the Klingon uniform the series had stayed with since Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Also present in the mission is the supposed Romulan mercenary Tallera (Robin Curtis) who is dressed differently to the rest of the mercenary crew, wearing a two-tone patterned tunic with a darker fabric over a green one that is arranged in an asymmetrical fashion. This tunic is worn over patterned trousers.

When investigating the disappearance of Picard, the rest of the Enterprise crew go incognito, with Worf's disguise being the most notable being a reddish jumper with a panel on the front, worn under a red cloak.

'Dark Page'

This rather maudline episode was the last appearance of Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett) on The Next Generation (though she would make appearances on Deep Space 9), and involved Lwaxana confronting a traumatic memory from her past. Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) is briefly seen wearing a lovely blue and pink dress cut at a slant.

Deanna's own father is briefly seen in a flashback, wearing a red, gold and blue patterned top that sadly doesn't get enough screentime but is more visible thanks to a behind the scenes photo.

Lwaxana herself spends this episode in perhaps her dullest outfit in any of her appearances, as it is just a dull grey gown, worn over grey leggings.

Lwaxana's memories are mostly unearthed thanks to her communicating telepathically with the Cairn, a species of telepaths who are all clad in jumosuits fitted with ruffled fabric sections around the shoulders and sleeves, the sleeves having the ruffles more pronounced especially. The jumpsuits are worn with boots of the same colour, so the diplomat Macques (Norman Large) wears blue boots to match his blue jumpsuit.

'Attached'

This episode involved Picard and Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) investigating a planet that has been split into two warring factions, the Kes and the Prytt. The Kes send two delegates, who are both clad in brown patterned suits that have their lapels cut to the side, as well as patterns over the shoulders, worn with bangles over the sleeves around the elbows.

The Kes' opposing faction, the Pritt, meanwhile are all in blue and brown patterned bodysuits worn with a hood, also of the same colour scheme - the pattern noticeably forms several triangular shapes around the chest and shoulders.

'Force of Nature'

This episode involved scientists of the Hekarana species trying to prove that warp drive was actually harming the very fabric of space in a very obvious pollution and climate change parallel, and both are clad in grey bodysuits worn under jackets that have had ruffled fabric pieces fixed on the lapels, chest and sleeves.

'Inheritance'

This episode involved Data (Brent Spiner) meeting a group of scientists led by Juliana (Fionnula Flanagan) who wears coloured jackets with blocks of patterned material around the middles, as well as having an asymmetrical end to the jacket.

Data also would meet a holographic imitation of his 'father', Dr Soong (Brent Spiner, again) - here, Soong wears a similar brown smock as he did in his appearance in the previous seasons 'Birthright', but now the fabric is of a more mosaic-like design, and the smock is longer as well.

'Homeward'

In this episode Worf meets his human brother Rozhenko (Paul Sorvino) who is on a scientific mission - Rozhenko wears a blue jacket and trousers, with the jacket having a stiff cut and mottled material over the shoulders, worn over a buttonless pale shirt.

'Sub Rosa'

In this oddball episode, the Enterprise crew ends up on a colony modeled on Scotland, which is run by the alien Ronin (Duncan Regehr) who sports a stiff buttonless dark grey jacket and shirt.

Ronin's second outfit is also fairly subdued, but is distinguished by the rounded collar, as well as the earth tones.

'Lower Decks'

This would be the perfect oppurtunity to finally bring up the Klingon workout robes worn for their equivalent martial arts - resembling typical karata gis vaguely, but made of a thicker material and with blocks of coloured material over one side of the chest and cuffs. Worf's robes are distinguished by having red markings as opposed to white.

A different form of waiter uniform is also briefly seen, this being a green jacket with panelling down the front.

'Thine Own Self'

In this episode, Data ends up on a planet whose technology level is roughly on the level of the Renaissance, which is reflected especially in the costume worn by the village magistrate Garvin (Michael Rothhaar), with a squat hat worn with his baggy-sleeved red tunic and gown.

The dress worn by the local nurse Talur (Ronnie Claire Edwards) indicates more that this is an alien culture, with her dress being rather flat with an oval collar as well as being made of a more shiny patterned material.

Dressed similarly is Gia (Kimberly Cullum) who wears a similarly designed pink-ish dress.

Riker's disguise when travelling on the planet is also vaguely similar to the magistrates, though worn with a hood and crown-like headpiece as well.

'Masks'

Briefly appearing in this episode is a young boy who wears this very colourful purple-topped onesie, that is only seen when he's sitting down.

'Journey's End'

In this episode, the Federation tries to move away a group of Native American colonists from the planet they have settled on, in a fairly blunt and not very smart allegory for actual indigenous history. The Native American colonists are just in contemporary shirts, vests and jumpers, with the only notable outfit being the rainbow jumper worn by the colony's shaman Lakanta (Tom Jackson) - more striking however are a group of technicolor jumpsuits that sadly are not seen in the episode at all, seemingly intended to mirror Native American artwork and sculptures especially with the masks.

'Firstborn'

This episode involved the Klingons again, with Worf (Michael Dorn) trying to teach his son more about the Klingon way of life, which involves taking him to an 'opera' show of sorts where two Klingon warriors sing the songs of their ancestors whilst doing battle with one another. The Klingon singers are clad in absolutely beautiful robes, one red and one green, made of segmented shining patterns in a way that resembles stained glass, and worn over a leather tunic resembled to design the typical Klingon warrior uniform. Both of these robes were sold via auction at Christie's, though there isn't more photos of them sadly.

There is of course a usual intrigue plot, where the Duras Sisters are suspected of being involved in a plot to kill Worf's son, with one lead being the alien businessman Gorta (Colin Mitchell), who wears a shiny silvery tunic over trousers of the same silvery material as the sleeves and shoulders, though sadly the full shot is only at a distance. It would however end up being reused in episodes of the sequel series Deep Space Nine, as did many costumes of The Next Generation.

'Bloodlines'

This episode involved Picard meeting up with with a man, Jason Vigo (Ken Olandt) who at first he is made to believe is his son, but events prove otherwise. Jason is first found during one of his mountain climing trips, and as such is wearing what is apparently a futuristic climbing suit - it is a bodysuit with green-lined rectangular padding around the elbows, knees and shoulders Futuristic sportswear really seemed to be one feature of costume designer Robert Blackman's designs, all the way from The Running Man to the later seasons of Star Trek Voyager.

At the end of the episode, Vigo wears this more simplistic outfit consisting of a green and blue patterned buttonless shirt, worn with a silvery vest with turned lapels and a chunky belt.

There also is a new Ferengi uniform introduced in this episode, albeit it is basically a recolour of Durinda Wood's uniform design from the second season - however, the coffee colour of the fabric and golden crystal lining is very appealing to me, so I'll include it.

'Preemptive Strike'

This was the penultimate episode of the season, and as such was a sort of tie-in to the events that would unfold in the, at the time, new sequel show Deep Space 9. This episode involved the Enterprise's crewmember Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes), who questions her loyalty to Starfleet and ends up joining a militant resistance movement against the Cardassians. This episode had a lot of muted but still creatively designed garments, with Ro herself wearing a blue tunic which has a speckled strip running over the front and back, worn over a mosaic-patterned shirt. Completing the look is a belt with a large rectangular piece adorning it.

Ro has decided to join 'the Maquis' (a thoroughly unsubtle name for a resistance movement, but this is television after all), with the local section of the Maquis being overseen by the elderly Macias (John Franklyn-Robbins), who sports a blue tunic with a large white chevron pattern on the front, worn with a brown gown over it.

Most of the Maquis seen in Deep Space 9 and Voyager would just be often in muted patterned vests, but here they are in more interesting garments, with the Maquis fighters Santos (William Thomas Jr.) and Kalita (Shannon Cochran) being two highlights - Santos wears a dark mustard bodysuit worn with a brown vest, with both the vest and bodysuit adorned with red lining, whilst Kalita wears a mauve tunic that has been cut at the top to show the shirt underneath.

Picard also briefly disguises himself as a Maquis, wearing a white-lined greenish shirt with a curved open collar.

'All Good Things...'

The finale of the season was a swansong for the show in general, with the very first episode being linked (and Patrick Stewart having to once again wear the spandex uniform that had cuased him so much hell!) as Q (John de Lancie) returning to reveal to Picard that he may be responsible for all life on Earth never evolving if he does not stop a space anomaly from developing. In this episode, Picard finds himself in the past, present and future, which is where the new costumes were made for. The aged versions of the characters all wear a variety of futuristic civilian wear, with Picard first sporting this set of overalls with the shirt being of an asymmetrical design, as there's a sloping block of gray fabric over it.

Picard's second outfit is this two-tone beige tunic with the lighter patches being in a triangle pointed downwards.

The aged Geordi meanwhile wears a red patterned jacket over a blue patterned tunic that is a lovely design, especially with the patterns that themselves are part of the fabric!

Picard and Geordi have tenures at Cambridge University, with their office being serviced by Jessel (Pamela Kosh) who sports a blue top with a wide open collar and a blue jumper over it.

Data is also part of the university, and is first seen wearing this lovely brown, orange and green striped jacket with no buttons and a set of three clasps, worn over a beige top.

Data's second outfit is more formal, and is a slightly futuristic riff on a professor's jacket with plaid blocks on the trousers and shoulders, as well as no buttons.

There was also a cut sequence that involved aliens called the Terrellians, who would have been wearing grey tunics with striped red shoulder boards.

Worf gets two costumes in this episode, with his first being worn by his present self, this being a patterned blue tunic.

The elderly Worf meanwhile sports a tunic rather similar to the classic Klingon armor designed by Robert Fletcher, except it is of a black and brown colour scheme, with the collar armor segmented and rings around the sleeves. Similar designs to this would appear on other Klingon characters in Deep Space 9.

The new Starfleet uniforms are a highlight too, being a very sleek design consisting of a jumpsuit whose top half has been fashioned to resemble a tunic, which is entirely of a bold colour depending on the rank - Beverley Crusher is a captain, so she wears a red version, but yellow and blue versions can be seen in the background and were seen later still in Deep Space 9.