William Ware Theiss’s uniform designs for Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) were so impactful that they not only set the standard for subsequent spin-offs but also remain instantly recognizable decades later to anyone familiar with pop culture or science fiction.
The TNG uniforms were a clear progression from the uniforms Theiss had previously designed for The Original Series (TOS) and the planned Phase II project. They represented a refinement of design concepts he had explored in the original show, reimagining the Star Trek universe approximately a century after his 23rd-century creations.
Theiss had already favored knitted fabrics for Starfleet uniforms during The Original Series. He might have been moving towards more unisex uniform designs during the Phase II era. It’s evident that while both William Ware Theiss and Robert Fletcher were talented costume designers who significantly contributed to Star Trek, their artistic visions for the future were vastly different and almost incompatible.
For various reasons, Theiss established a uniform aesthetic for The Next Generation that, while distinctive and visually striking, was undeniably a continuation of his work on The Original Series. While some of his more unconventional ideas, such as male “skants” and the Season 1 admiral uniform, were short-lived, other elements of his design, like the three division colors and rank insignia placement, persisted through the Enterprise era.
Although Theiss’s direct involvement with the costumes was limited to a single season and the uniforms evolved after he left, the TNG paradigm and visual identity became, arguably, as iconic as his designs for The Original Series.
