Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Season 1 (1993)

Costume Design by:

- Robert Blackman ( notable efforts: The Running Man (1987), Star Trek: The Next Generation (Seasons 3 to 7), Voyager (1995 - 2001), Enterprise (2001 - 2005), Pushing Daisies (2007 - 2009), Mockingbird Lane (2012) )

Costume Design Genre: futuristic

Following on from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was a more dramatic and darker series than previous shows in the franchise, as it would eventually lead to its main character, the captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks), fighting a war against the totalitarian 'Dominion' from the 'Gamma Quadrant' from the other side of the galaxy. The setting was also a contrast compared to previous series, as instead of a spaceship that would have different adventures every week, it was set on a spacestation run by the newly liberated Bajorans, the titular 'Deep Space 9'. Whilst the Starfleet uniforms from this point onwards weren't worth noting - being just black overalls with blocks of colour at the shoulders - it was the uniforms of the Bajoran personnel that were more interesting, in particular the jumpsuit worn by Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) - the uniforms of the Bajorans were a collaboration between costume designer Robert Blackman and production artist Ricardo Delgado, with the uniforms having a two-tone colour scheme, and padded shoulders that carried on down the sleeves.

Later seasons would introduce Kira wearing another version of the uniform that was identical to her jumpsuit, but this only differed in that it was a tunic instead - the tunic was worn over a one-piece jumpsuit that has a lattice weaved segment stitched on the top.

The standard Bajoran uniform is similar to the secondary design of Kira's uniform, though in a grey colourscheme - though some men also wear red versions in a similar manner to Kira's which look a bit more stiff compared to hers.

Also on the station is the shapeshifting security officer Odo (Rene Auberjonois), who sports a brown outfit very similar in designs to Kira's, though with no collar (albeit, this was dded in later seasons), and no belt either. In later seasons, Odo would have a collar added to his tunic which personally, I can only see as an improvement...without the collar his uniform just looks a bit unprofessional - other security officers worked under him would keep the collar-less uniform though!

Of course, one of the most famous characters of the series would be the Ferengi bartender Quark (Armin Shimermen), whose snarky attitude and clashes with Odo would fuel much of both the lighter elements and character drama of the series - but what makes Quark really notable on this blog are his costumes! In this series, the Ferengi were played for humor more than they were in The Next Generation, where they had failed as villains, and costume designer Robert Blackman stated that the ridiculousness of the Ferengi's design allowed him to be as loud as possible when making their outfits. By his own words, he wanted to make 'fantastically obscene combinations of colour and decoration' with Quark and his cohorts' costumes, and as such Quark's first notable outfit, whilst muted compared to his later outfits, still has garish touches. A muted greenish jacket - designed in a way that feels like it's a spoof on a Victorian 'dandy' outfit - coated in a multicoloured threaded pattern, with shiny green armbands and worn over a mottled brown shirt. It only gets louder from here!

(Also, have to mention - like most other Star Trek entries on this blog, the costumes often aren't seen that clearly on-screen, so I often have to resort to using photos from costume auction websites. However with the Ferengi, there seems to be one fellow out there, who runs the 'New Ferenginar' blog, that has made it his mission to collect all the costumes made for the Ferengi characters, and keep them in top condition too - chances are, if its a Ferengi costume, it was taken from that blog - please check it out, if you do like these costumes!)

Quark runs the bar with his long suffering brother Rom (Max Grodenchik) who wears the typical Ferengi waiters uniform, which is a mottled green jacket worn over a shiny greenish-yellow shirt - in some episodes, the shade of Rom's jacket becomes lighter, presumably to distinguish him from the 'background' waiters. Some of thw waiters jackets have bands of green material in a similar manner to Quark's jacket.

Rom's son Nog (Aron Eisenberg) is also on the station, and wears a variety of wraparound tops that are designed in the typical Ferengi fashion, often with a bulky panel over the chest - the most striking of all of these is the blue and purple coloured deal.

There is also this very fun outfit, that consists of a jacket made of a patterned material of yellow, blue and red stripes with white dots all over, and worn over orange trousers.

Nog's best friend is none other than Sisko's son, Jake (Cirroc Lofton), who was also best friends with Nog (Aron Eisenberg). Whilst Nog's outfits in the first two seasons weren't that notable by and large (barring perhaps that purple top), Jake's brighly coloured onesies were infamous, in particular that blue and green deal! The second season would introduce some more, but they would be phased out by the third season (replaced by garish shirts which the fans also complain about anyway).

'Emissary'

The pilot episode of the series which introduced us to Sisko as he was taking up his position as commander of the spacestation. During the myriad visions he endures, he is seen wearing a variety of garish civilian wear, such as this rainbow coloured shirt made of a ridged material, with panelling around the shoulders. Also of note are his purple swimsuit with yellow and orange blocks of colour on the sides, and his purple pajamas with red lining.

With Sisko is, of course, his son Jake, who wears an outfit that he does not wear again for the rest of the season - this consists of a red jumpet with padding around the shoulders, worn over green overalls.

Sisko finds out his destiny is interlinked with the prophecies of the people of Bajor, as he is told by the Bajoran priest Kai Opaka (Camille Saviola) - like the other Bajoran priests seen throughout the series, Kai wears a purple robe possibly inspired by Buddhist religious garb, but worn with a cylindrical helmet fixed with a trailing veil on the top.

'Past Prologue'

This episode was the introduction for the duplicitious former spy and razor-witted tailor Elim Garak (Andrew Robinson), who wears a two-tone teal shirt (that could be a jumpsuit, judging by the shot that shows the costume in full) worn under a mottled brown vest - the first of many rather striking outfits worn by the character throughout the series' run.

There is also the former Bajoran freedom fighter (Jeffrey Nordling), who wears a green smock with lining around the shoulders in a similar manner to the Bajoran uniforms.

'A Man Alone'

In this episode, Odo is framed as a murderer, with the witchhunt against him being led by Zayra (Edward Laurence Albert) who wears a blue jacket and trousers over a more shiny patterned waistcoat.

The actual murderer whoever, wears a black synthetic shirt and hood with streaks of silver all over.

'Babel'

In this episode, the DS9 station is struck by a plague that renders them unable to speak coherently, and is put under quarantine. Not pleased with this development is the freighter captain Jaheel (Jack Kehler) who wears a tunic with brown material over the front and bands of black ridging over the shoulder and front as well, with the brown panel tapering down over the waist.

Trying to help find a cute is the Bajoran doctor Surmak (Matthew Faison) who wears a tweed tunic with lining around the shoulders in the typical Bajoran fashion.

This would be a good time to mention the uniforms worn by Bajoran medical staff, which are blue and orange pattened jumpsuits, the orange arounded around the shoulders and waist in a rounded angular pattern.

There also also the smocks worn by patients in the laboratories, which are blue with orange lining around the collars and cuffs. These would appear in pretty much every season of the show, as would the Bajoran medical jumpsuits.

'Captive Pursuit'

In this episode, an alien fugitive named Tosk (Scott MacDonald) arrives on Deep Space 9, only wearing a lined jumpsuit made of a sort of scale-like material, fitting the reptilian design of his prosthetics.

On the hunt for Tosk are a group of alien soldiers, whose leader, aptly named 'the Hunter' (Gerrit Graham), is only differentiated from them by taking off his helmet. The uniform of the hunters is a rather pleasing two-toned red jumpsuit of an asymmetrical design, as a line of lighter red goes over the dark red panelling around the chest. Completing this is a rounded silver helmet, worn with a belt and bulky grey boots - honestly more charming the usual sort of space soldier designs that infested scifi media after Star Wars and Aliens.

There is also a brief appearance of the Dabo girl Sarda (Kelly Curtis) who wears a burgundy velvet jumpsuit with a gauzy multicolored wrap that forms into the sleeves.

'Q-Less'

An episode bridging this to the previous Star Trek series, that of course had to feature the fan favorite Q (John de Lancie), whose most notable outfit is this temporary disguise as a Bajoran waiter, which consists of a jumpsuit in a mustard and burgundy colour scheme. For most of this episode, Q mostly just wears a Starfleet uniform (or a boxers vest and shorts for when Sisko punches him in the face).

Also reappearing from The Next Generation is Vash (Jennifer Hetrick), whose first costume consists of a beige, sleeveless sweater, worn with a long-sleeved jacket in various shades or red and tan with a wide collar.

Vash also briefly sports this pink and red dress with ruffles around the shoulders, though she is only seen wearing it when sitting.

Vash's most elaborate costume seen in this episode happens to be this pinstriped blue top and coat, both with diagonal side cuts. Apparently, judging by the costume auction, this outfit was originally designed with a skirt segment, but here its just worn with blue leggings.

Vash has arrived on the station to auction off an artifact she had found, which results in of course several interested alien bidders arriving - the most notable among them is this unnamed alien, who sports a fantastically colourful coat - a technicolour dreamcoat, perhaps - worn over a vest adorned with golden pieces. This costume would briefly appear again in the second season, worn by another alien, which I'm glad for cos really this costume just wasn't seen enough in my opinion!

This is also the perfect time to bring up the various costumes worn by the various background aliens seen in this series, a good deal of which appear in this episode as well - the first of these notable 'background' aliens is this bird-like one wearing a yellow ruffled tops and tights, who regularly appeared in background shots.

Second are these aliens which were nicknamed the 'tailheads' by the production team, who wear iridescent blue jumpsuits with triangular panelling made of a rough material over the shoulders.

Then there are these aliens seen in multiple episodes who wear large, flat hats and long trailing patterned grey gowns that have sashes over the front, with the sleeves going down into gloves too.

There are too many other lovely costumes worn by the extras, often barely seen, but to go through each of the notable costume photos as there is on auction sites, first there was the array of colourful jumpsuits with patterned sleeves and straps around the front...

...this rather delightful top and trousers of red with curved red patches design...

...this silvery studded top with padded shoulders...

...this very colourful robe...

...this really ornate outfit with the segments arranged into a stone-like pattern over a bodysuit...

...this golden jumpsuit with large belt...

...this red jumpsuit with leather straps and a coloured sash over it...

>

...these orange fur-lined jackets..

...this patterned brown top with furred sleeves...

...various Bajoran outfits, designed in the usual asymmetrical design...

...and, whilst listed on the official Startrekpropcollector site as a dress for Kira, for now I'm putting it here as I'm not sure it was ever really worn by her in the show?

Dressed much more plainly than all these aliens though is this Bajoran clerk, who dresses in a grey tunic with the usual Bajoran shoulder lining and an asymmetrical collar.

'Dax'

In this episode, Jadzia Dax is arrested for supposedly having been responsible for a crime, with her prosecutor being Ilon Tandro (Gregory Itzin), who claims she murdered his father. Tandro sports an asymmetrically patterned jacket of plaid and shinier fabrics.

Tandro's various underlings are dressed similarly, with asymmetrical jackets cut in a similar manner, though with more purple-hued fabrics.

Tandro's mother Enina (Fionnula Flanagan) is also wearing asymmetrically designed attire, in the form of a greenish-blue patterned dress with a strip of fabric down one side.

Presiding over Dax's trial is Els Renora (Anne Haney), who wears a mottled blue shawl with blue tights and a scarf.

Defending Dax during her trial is Selin (Richard Lineback), who dresses in the usual Trill fashion, wearing a long purple gown with open sleeves and lining around the shoulders.

'The Passenger'

In this episode, the consciousness of an alien criminal ends up on Deep Space 9, possessing the body of the security officer Kajada (Caitlin Brown) who wears a purple uniform with lighter panelling on the front of the tunic and trousers.

Enlisted by the possessed Kajada is an alien mercenary who wears a purple jumpsuit with patterned straps over the front and back - this was regularly used as a background alien's costume, but I opted to include it here rather than with the other extras earlier.

'Move Along Home'

An episode bemoaned by fans for its more comedic tone, this episode involved a species of aliens, the Wadi, who delight in playing games, and so naturally they challenge Quark to one, with strange effects to the station's crew. The Wadi's leader, Falow (Joel Brooks), wears one of the most garish outfits in the series since the original sixties show (barring that auction fella above), being a shiny blue tunic with a large golden chest panel, a silver collar piece, and srip one side of the chest fixed with lettering. What finishes the look, of course, is the alien lettering over their foreheads - was this a species in love with The Apple, and all trying to 'do the BIM'?

The rest of the Wadi all wear similar outfits as Falow, all with the same shiny material, golden chest panel and silver collars, and of course the lettering on their foreheads! The female Wadi are distinguished of course, by wearing a skirt segment with their tunics.

'The Nagus'

The episode the leader of the Ferengi people, the 'Gand Nagus' Zek (Wallace Shawn), whose crotchety antics would be the fodder for more comedic episodes throughout the series' run - Zek, like Quark and all other Ferengi in the series, would prove to be just as much of a fancy dresser, with his suit being a purple striped deal with a large brass buckle in the centre, and worn over a shiny multicoloured shirt. In this episode in particular, Zek wears a purple cloak over his jacket, something what wouldn't be worn in future appearances.

This episode also introduced Zek's faithful and always silent servant, Maihar'Du (Tiny Ron), who in this first appearance wears a bodysuit made of a mottled tan and purple fabric, with padded shoulders of a cream and brown colour scheme, and worn with a large brown belt - and whilst the screenshots don't show it properly thanks to being upscales of a grotty DVD source, his hair has purple streaks as well!

One especially scheming official present is Krax (Lou Wagner), the son of Zek, who sports a patterned maroon jacket adorned with black and gold floral materials on the front and sleeves, the look completed with reddish trousers fixed with black lining.

>

Some of the other Ferengi officials in his episode also had their costumes reused in Voyager, with one notable example being the striped brown jacket, as well as another jacket made of a more coarse looking greyish material.

There was several other jackets seen in this episode very briefly, that would get worn in later episodes of the series.

Another Ferengi official present is Nava (Barry Gordon), who wears an absolutely delightful outfit, consisting of a cream and pink striped jacket, with a large tapering panel going down the front, and worn with pinkish-red trousers too. Shame this one isn't seen more clearly in the episode, or saw much in the way of reuse afterwards!

Last of the notable Ferengi officials is Gral (Lee Arenberg), who sports a red patterned jacket, fixed with beaded bands on the arms, and worn over a shiny red shirt.

At this point it should be worth noting the dresses worn by the 'Dabo girls', who assist in Quark's dubiously legal gambling games - whilst there are several different dresses worn by the girls throughout the series (and one that was reused from an episode of The Next Generation), the first two seasons have this especially striking deal, a gold and black dress with a ruffled floral pattern sleeve and centre panel - in some episodes, a very similar dress to this but with an all-gold fabric is also worn.

'Vortex'

In this episode, a visitor from the 'gamma quadrant', Croden (Cliff DeYoung) visits, wearing a two-twon grey jumpsuit, with the darker grey covering most of it - very similar in design to Jake's onesies, also note the black bar that forms a 'belt' of sorts! This was reused in the Enterprise episode 'Broken Bow' but was altered to have red straps over the shoulders, as well as a red collar.

Croden has a daughter, Yareth (Leslie Engelberg) who he is trying to rescue from his oppressive government - she is wearing a jumpsuit with a pinkish shawl over one side.

A member of Croden's government is seen, wearing a dark grey-green jumpsuit with beige cuffs.

This episode partly involved Croden running away from a pair of violent alien twins, who are both clad in imposing uniforms made of ridged leather and silvery panels - these costumes would see ample reuse in both Voyager and Enterprise years later, but with the shinier silver panels taken off.

'The Storyteller'

In this episode, O'Brien ends up appointed as the spiritual leader of a Bajoran village, whose members all dress in colourful vests with even more colourful gowns worn over them, as well as high-waisted suspended trousers.

Most colourful of all is the outfit worn by the 'Sirah' (Kay E. Kuter), a shaman of sorts, who dresses in this delightfully patterned dress, with a long red cloak with multicoloured lining around the edges.

Also underway is a conflict between two Bajoran villages, the negotiator being Varis Sul (Gina Phillips), who is first seen wearing this rather formal grey dress with pale teal markings over the sides. Apologies for the red circles on one of the images, as these were on the image that was found on the Startrekpropcollector website!

Varis' second outfit is this asymmetrically cut dress made of a mottled teal material.

There are several other Bajoran officials seen in this episode, with the most striking outfit being this hexagonal patterned blue and grey tunic.

Another Bajoran offiical that is only briefly seen, is wearing a stiff tunic made of a grey streaked fabric with black shoulders. This particular costume would get reused in the Voyager episode 'Counterpoint' a few years later.

'Progress'

This episode involved a dispute with a Bajoran farmer, Mullibok (Brian Keith), who refuses to leave his homestead despite the government's orders - he is dressed in tweed vest with colourful bits of fabric strewn over it, that aren't easy to make out on-screen thanks to the picture quality.

Also with Mullibok is the mute girl Keena (Annie O'Donnell), who wears a fairly simple farmwife dress, the futuristic twist being the multicoloured skirt segment.

The official who orders the farmers to leave sports this asymmetrically cut jacket, the top half of which is coated in a slightly metallic seeming material, especially with how shiny it is.

Also briefly seen in the episode is this alien captain who Nog and Jake make a rather rash deal with involving some bottles of sauce - the captain's jacket is made of ridged vinyl on the top half, with the bottom being a slightly scale-like material, and is worn with vinyl leggings as well.

'If Wishes Were Horses'

This episode had a mysterious event ocurring that made characters wishes and dreams become real (including Rumpelstiltskin!), but of course Quark's dreams result in a pair of scantily-clad women appearing, one of them wearing an iridescent golden bikini and translucent loincloth.

Also made real by the visions is the 21st century baseball star Buck Bokai (Keone Young), who wears a slightly futuristic version of a baseball uniform, it being a jumpsuit with a v-neck collar.

'The Forsaken'

This was the second episode to feature a character from The Next Generation, this time being Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett), who is visting the Deep Space 9 spacestation and develops a crush on Odo. Lwaxana's costumes in this series would be rather less over the top as those she wore previously, with her most striking one being this dress consisting of a see-through fabric coated in blue filigree patterns, fixed to a black skirt section made of a starfield pattern.

Later on, Lwaxana wears this slightly more reserved red dress, that sadly doesn't get seen fully or clearly on-screen - it seems to be a reversal to the blue dress that her daughter wore in various episodes of The Next Generation, but with a reversed asymmetrical collar.

Also visiting the station are two ambassadors, a Vulcan and a blue-skinned Bolian - the Vulcan ambassador is wearing a stiff red patterned tunic with dark grey shoulder pads, with the classic Vulcan lettering down one side.

The Bolian ambassador meanwhile is wearing a multicoloured gold, blue and red watercolour pattern jacket, worn over a golden shirt.

'Duet'

In this episode, a Cardassian military official, Marritza (Harris Yulin), is detained on the station for being a suspected war criminal. Marritza is in civilian garb, which like most of the Cardassian (and indeed, most characters in the series) costumes, is a stiffly cut jacket, with lighter grey lining and two red strips going down the shoulders.

Briefly seen in this episode is a Bajoran minister, who wears this shiny orange patterned tunic, though you can barely see it thanks to being only on a viewscreen.

Another very shiny tunic that is only seen on a viewscreen is this deal worn by an alien captain, with panels of silvery material over the front and sides.

'In the Hands of the Prophets'

The last episode of the season involved the religious leader, Vedek Winn (Louise Fletcher), doing the usual fun religious stuff, such as getting angry at scientific concepts replacing religious ones in the classes taught by O'Brien's wife Keiko, who wears a rather smart asymmetrical brown jacket with red lining.

Throughout the episode, Winn sports her religious attire, a maroon robe with blue lining, fashioned in a way that slightly calls to mind Buddhist garb. The most striking detail of this is the headwear that Winn adores, which is a serrated arch shape, slightly remniscient of the Sydney Opera House!