Movies - TV
What Every Uniform Color In Star Trek Really Means
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
When designing the "Star Trek" Starfleet uniforms, costume designer William Ware Theiss suggested that the various workers should be color-coded by their departments.
Starfleet has three central departments on a vessel: gold for command, blue for science/medical, and red for engineering/security.
Captain Kirk occasionally wore a green tunic with a V-neck collar. However, this didn't denote any unique department and seemed a fashionable alternative for starship captains.
In the 1979 film "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," command officers now wore all-white outfits, science officers wore a muter steel blue, and engineers wore a muted golden brown.
In "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," a new standard was established, and the all-red, Christmas sweater-like uniforms would remain the standard through at least the 2350s.
"Star Trek: The Next Generation" reverted to the colors from the original series, with the red and gold reversed. Officers wore red, while engineering and security wore gold.
The "Next Generation" color coding system has remained in place until today. Although the general uniform designs have changed a lot, the coloring remains consistent.
On "Star Trek: Enterprise," set a century before the original "Star Trek," the crew all wore indigo jumpsuits that bore their department colors on their shoulder stripes.
"Star Trek: Discovery" was also set before the original series. On it, command officers wore gold, science officers wore silver, and engineering/security officers wore bronze.
Also on "Discovery," medical officers were permitted to wear all-white uniforms, a trend also seen in the chronologically concurrent "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."