Star Trek has always forecasted the future. It's been surprisingly prescient in terms of technology, for instance. Fashion not so much. Trends change on a dime in the present, so it's hard to imagine what they would be three hundred years from now. Sometimes Star Trek produces some awesome costumes. Sometimes it produces some really dated ones.
In the over fifty-year history of the franchise, some truly bad outfits have emerged from Star Trek's various television shows and movies. Here are some of the worst ever.
10 Starfleet Uniforms (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
Starfleet returned to the big screen in 1978 with Star Trek: The Motion Picture. New uniforms were issued for the occasion, but they fell woefully short of the iconic costumes featured in all the episodes from The Original Series. Dubbed the 'penguin' uniforms, these one-piece leotards featured little detail and drab muted colors. Basically everybody looked like they were walking around in pajamas. These were never seen again after the movie, consigned to the Starfleet closet in the sky.
9 "Justice"
Star Trek returned to television in 1987 with The Next Generation and didn't waste a minute in exploring new frontiers of bad fashion. A key – and infamous – moment occurred in the episode "Justice." The Enterprise and her crew visit an idyllic planet where everybody wears... well, hardly anything. The men, in particular, wear strange barely-there onesies of threadbare gray fabric that were way too tight for 1987 and even tighter for modern 4K television sets.
8 "The Gamesters Of Triskelion"
The Next Generation didn't pioneer weird, sexy outfits. The Original Series broke such ground on a number of occasions, including the second season episode "The Gamesters of Triskelion." In this episode, clothing is minimal for everyone involved. Especially Kirk, but he never missed an opportunity to lose his shirt. The character of Shahna does seem to give a little future Lady Gaga vibe though. With her aluminum foil bikini, Ugg-like boots, and green coif, she channels various Gaga eras. The future definitely wore it better though.
7 "Angel One"
The first season of The Next Generation is infamous for its bad choices in costumes. Another early misfire occurs in the episode "Angel One." This again involves the Enterprise visiting a planet of scantily clad young people. In this case, the 80s' influence on fashion was unmistakable.
It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't the worst of 80s fashion tropes that left their mark in this episode. Again, it's the men who suffer the most indignity. Shimmering fabric drapes their mostly exposed bodies in 'futuristic' cuts that date the show pretty hard.
6 "Charlie X"
Star Trek has always had a thing for tight, revealing clothes. Case in point: the early Original Series episode "Charlie X." During the episode, Captain Kirk participates in a ballet recital aboard the good ship Enterprise alongside the titular character. Charlie wears something like a bathrobe, but Kirk goes shirtless (because of course, he does). His red pants – complete with Starfleet delta shield – are very, very tight. He shockingly didn't have anything memorable to say about it.
5 Neelix
Neelix is a fun character for the most part on Star Trek: Voyager and Ethan Phillips remains a part of the close-knit cast. He's a bit boisterous and a bit much at times, depending on the era of the show. A lot of that has to do with his clothes. 24th-century fashion was at times a collision of design elements and colors, and nowhere was that more confused than Neelix's wardrobe. Chaotic prints and patterns competed for attention in his various outfits over seven seasons, which often consisted of mismatched tunics and jackets.
4 "The Way To Eden"
Those costumes from "Angel One" might have been an homage actually to an Original Series episode. "The Way To Eden" dates itself immediately with its attempt to bring the 'hippie' counterculture of the late 60s into the series. The clothes don't help at all. Tye-dyed scraps of clothing held together with what seems to be rope and string clad the music-loving aliens the crew encounters in this episode. Some of these are almost – almost – as bad as the worst Invisible Woman costume ever.
3 Star Trek: The Next Generation (First Costume)
When The Next Generation debuted, Starfleet personnel wore a one-piece spandex suit that left little to the imagination. The basic design proved iconic – the color-coded pattern survived into revised outfits in season three – but the original version introduced in season one didn't work at all.
The rubbery costumes didn't flatter the physique of anyone that wore them, and the lack of any standard fashion element like seams echoed the disaster of The Motion Picture uniform.
2 Elaan Of Troyius
Elaan of Troyius might have fit in a James Bond movie from the 60s (or at least an Austin Powers movie from the 90s). This Original Series character wore a skimpy costume that recalls some of the worst female superhero costumes ever. The piecemeal approach found in so many other bad Star Trek outfits emerges here again. She wears a bikini top paired with triangular strips of fabric and very silver, Space Age spandex. The purple accents just kind of throw it into absolute confusion.
1 Starfleet Field Uniform
Field uniforms are cool. Many superhero teams like the X-Men have some form of them in their retinue. Early in the history of The Next Generation, fans saw a Starfleet field uniform that was very... unique. A skin-tight electric blue bodysuit signaled that the Federation came to play in the first season episode “11001001.”
Black belts and harness straps broke up the monotony – along with some major elbow-padding – but it didn't really help matters too much. This particular costume was never seen again after this episode, though weird one-off Starfleet outfits would continue to be the norm for a while on the show and even its sequels.