The 32 best sci-fi movie uniforms and costumes
Feb. 29, 2024From explorers to soldiers, sci-fi movies have the cleanest fashion in all of cinema
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
In space, no one can hear you scream. But they can see how great you look. In the long history of sci-fi movies, some costumes are more memorable than others.
When it comes to the expansive canon of science fiction movies, there are recurring ideas and motifs. One of them is the uniform, or sometimes a space suit. After all, space travel is full of hazards, dangers, and harsh environments. It only makes sense if characters can survive the elements in something protective. Many times, these uniforms tend to look pretty great, too.
Whether they represent shadowy agencies, indicate explorers, or designate unity in superhero teams, these are the 32 greatest uniforms and costumes in sci-fi movies.
32. The Last Suit They’ll Ever Wear (Men in Black, 1997)
You’ve seen black suits with white shirts and ties before. And that’s exactly the point. For a shadowy organization meant to slip in and out of places without drawing suspicion or being memorable, a plain but remarkably well-tailored black suit is the first, last, and only uniform that agents of the MIB ever need. Though they provide barely any protection from alien threats, and the dry cleaning bill to maintain them must be out of this world, there’s no denying that the Men in Black are the sharpest-dressed agency in the entire science fiction multiverse.
There’s just something about the textured gray-white jacket and pants worn by Tom Cruise’s Jack, a futuristic repair technician in a desolate Earth, that scream “main character energy.” While his work uniform simultaneously implies both the grit of specialized manual labor and action hero adventures, it’s his vintage New York Yankees hat that tops the look off. It reminds us that even the most impossible occupation of the future can still be a blue collar lifestyle.
The crew uniforms of the NSEAProtectorare a bit dull in terms of color, but they seem to be exceedingly comfortable while maintaining form. That’s a good thing for the characters in Galaxy Quest, who not only wear them for the show-within-a-show called “Galaxy Quest,” but in actual space! In the roaring ‘90s comedy Galaxy Quest, a cast of TV actors who once starred in a Star Trek-like television show get whisked off into space by a desperate alien society who need their help. Their uniforms are intentionally uninspired, being an amalgamated homage to classic sci-fi pop culture. But that doesn’t mean they can’t still look great in their own right.
When Star Trek made its journey to the final frontier of 21st century summer tentpoles, it did so in modern, minimalist fashion. In J.J. Abrams’ blockbuster film version of the original 1960s TV series, the tight, heavy fabric outfits of Starfleet were reimagined into airy, moisture-wicking tops – almost reminiscent of sports jerseys – and simple black bottoms. It was the right look for the right time, to subtly tell audiences that what you’re watching ain’t your daddy’s Star Trek.
Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox
While the movie adaptation of Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s genre-bending graphic novel was terribly unpopular with critics and audiences alike, it doesn’t keep the movie from looking stylish. In this alternate vision of the late 1890s, steampunk flavors are cranked to the highest volume with pretty much every character looking like Pinterest inspo for adults hanging out at DragonCon. From Sean Connery’s drool-worthy trenchcoat to Peta Wilson’s black corset that doubles as chest armor, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen represent a look that modern superheroes should take notes from.
It would be careless to dismiss the all-silver jumpsuit of Klaatu, played by Michael Rennie in the 1951 original movie. While to modern eyes it may look like just a cheap Halloween costume, Klaatu’s silver suit is actually foundational for the science fiction genre; it’s also quite fitting, foreshadowing in just a few years the Silver Age of comics, an era where comic book storytellers absorbed Cold War paranoia and a cultural obsession with science. In the context of The Day the Earth Stood Still, Klaatu’s otherworldly look successfully sows doubt as to his true intentions. Of course, Klaatu is the movie’s protagonist, and his troublesome ordeal on Earth proves just how unprepared humans are to receive visitors from beyond.
Luc Besson’s dream project, a movie adaptation of the French comic series, brought to the silver screen some of the finest space armor ever made for a movie. Layered protective padding miraculously does not betray the slender silhouettes of Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevigne). While their muted gunmetal gray colors look derivative of characters in shooter video games, they act as a blank canvas for both Valerian and Laureline personalities to bleed through, such as in Laureline’s custom belt. There’s also a unique outline of yellow dotted lights that not only illuminate their faces in dark spaces, but provide a remarkable visual contrast. These costumes are infinitely more memorable than the movie they appear in.
“What if Luke Skywalker looked cozier?” That seems to be the central idea behind the uniforms of the Rylan Star League, who recruit prospective pilots with an arcade video game disguised as a training module. In The Last Starfighter, trailer park teenager Alex (Lance Guest) becomes the hero of the galaxy when he blasts through the Starfighter game and is immediately recruited into the Rylan Star League to fight their war against the K-Dan Empire. While the Star League’s uniforms may feel like rip-offs of Star Wars’ Luke and his X-Wing pilot suit, their unique vanilla cream color palette and padded trimming foster a look unique to The Last Starfighter.
There’s no one on Earth who would declare Pluto Nash as their favorite movie. But in this sci-fi comedy led by Eddie Murphy, who plays a nightclub owner on the Moon, the title character sports a pretty neat and wholly unique space suit that comes in a metallic brick red and yellow color scheme. Pluto Nash’s suit stands in defiance of sci-fi’s overabundance of silver, black, and white. Even if the movie isn’t good, and it isn’t, it at least lets Eddie Murphy’s movie star charisma shine through.
Shotaro Kaneda’s red monochrome outfit is simply one of the coolest and most striking in all of science fiction movies, bar none. As the hot-blooded passionate leader of a vigilantebosozokugang, Kaneda is fittingly dressed in varying shades of red – which all match his stolen, tricked out motorcycle – with his scarlet leather jacket a standout piece. A singular blend of World War II aviation, 1980s streetwear, and speculative cyberpunk aesthetics, Shotaro Kaneda alone represents the haunted heart of Katsuhiro Otomo’s sci-fi classic feature.
It’s frankly hard to categorize the costumes of the Star Wars series. The expansive, multi-decade saga is teeming with deeply iconic costumes and uniforms. But narrowing things down a bit, the samurai-inspired robes of the Jedi are deserving of special recognition. While practical in hot, arid climates – like, say, the deserts of Tatooine – they are also versatile, comfortable but appropriate for just about any environment. They’re also dignified, ensuring that the noble members of the Jedi are not merely soldiers, but negotiators of peace throughout a galaxy far, far away.
The protective suits of jaeger pilots, also called “rangers,” are just among the most eye-catching sci-fi uniforms around. Whether they’re in distressed white, cool gray, or shiny black (which beautifully reflect light to create a pleasing sense of depth and texture), jaeger pilots walk around looking like plastic action figures blown up to life size proportions. Their transparent helmets are also cleverly designed with cinema in mind, to allow these pilots – and the actors playing them – to have expressive faces while behind the wheels of giant-size mecha.
Jude Law’s Sky Captain, a dashing bomber pilot in an alternate, fantastical World War II, simply looks the part of a hero in a top-heavy outfit that looks ripped right out of a Golden Age comic book. While the underrated sci-fi quite obviously takes inspiration from 1940s-era wartime fashions, Law’s Sky Captain is awe-inspiring in a drool-worthy aviator coat with shearling fur. There just aren’t enough classic dieselpunk movies, but thankfully Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is strong enough to shoulder the slack.
For the third movie in Star Trek’s “Kelvin Timeline” series, Star Trek Beyond from director Justin Lin, the USSEnterprisecrew don new uniforms that skew a little closer to their TV ancestors. No longer resembling pieces of Under Armor layers, the uniforms of Star Trek Beyond look heavier and fuller, allowing the crew to appear more dignified as space explorers than space triathlon competitors. Later in the movie, characters like Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk, don more protective outfits that allow them to kick more butt like they never have before.
The plentiful scholarship surrounding The Matrix and its queer subtexts allows the all-black stylings of its characters to be read in multiple ways. On the surface, it’s simply speaking to the times, with the late ‘90s and its newfound obsession with the internet and technology trying to rebel against the bright colors of decades past. On deeper levels, these costumes are reminiscent of forbidden fetishes; see the way their gun straps and holsters call to mind the buckles and straps of BDSM. However you choose to understand The Matrix and its flavor of wardrobing, the fact remains that The Matrix simply owns black leather, and that no one can wear long coats and sunglasses without looking like they’re trying to be “The One.”
Barbarella, a gorgeous adventurer from the future (played by Jane Fonda), doesn’t have just one memorable costume. But all of her different looks form a unified idea of Barbarella, a being of extreme feminine sexuality and what that looks like in the outer reaches of space. Barbarella’s costumes are the antithesis of functionality, being so brazenly campy and kitschy to the point that the movie might be mocking the sci-fi genre just as much as it’s paying affectionate homage. But who cares about all that when Jane Fonda looks so good as she does?
To enter the unusual business of ghost extermination, the characters in the horror-comedy classic Ghostbusters, from director Ivan Reitman, don military flight overalls – practical, versatile, and easy to layer over normal clothes – to hunt down plasma-spewing specters across New York City. The ensemble really comes together taken as a whole: the gray elbow pads, the black combat boots, and the utility belt of gadgets and gizmos. The official Ghostbusters uniform is without question one of the best movie costumes, and most iconic Halloween costumes, ever put together.
As if absorbing his Martian surroundings, the left-behind botanist Dr. Mark Watney survives his time on Mars wearing a custom space suit colored in bright orange and white. It’s a terrific, modern-looking survival suit that still allows some contrast between Matt Damon and his desolate environment. For Ridley Scott’s movie, the suit was imagined to be as close to realistic as possible, based on what astronauts on Mars might actually have to wear given our neighboring planet’s unique ecosystem.
- Stormtrooper Armor (The Star Wars series)
They’re the most iconic foot soldiers in movie history, even if nothing about their costuming makes any practical sense. (All white? Really?) Resembling marching ghosts whose fearsome masks render their identities anonymous, the Stormtroopers exert the will of the Empire all throughout the galaxy – and they look amazing doing it. Even if Stormtroopers are individually inept and maybe stupid, seeing their pearly white armors in a mass horde is enough to send even the bravest members of the Rebellion retreating to escape.
It’s a uniform so good, it’s been reused by other universes. In Paul Verhoven’s Starship Troopers, an adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein’s 1959 novel that satirizes fascism, marines of the United Citizen Federation are outfitted in dark gray fatigues layered with shell-like body armor. In this war against sentient bugs, camouflage doesn’t really matter – all that matters is survival and willpower. For some reason, these uniforms have been reused by other productions, including TV shows like Power Rangers and Firefly. Can you blame them? When a movie has pretty much perfected the look of a sci-fi soldier, there’s no choice but to borrow it outright.
Director Nicholas Myer was not a fan of the original Star Trek uniforms, so during production of his sequel Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, he wanted the crew to have completely different uniforms. This was a tall order, considering the movie’s limited budget. Long story short, the old uniforms were re-dyed into a dark red, being one of the few colors that the costumes took to very well and looked impressive on camera. The result isare just the most attractive uniforms ever designed for a feature film, and arguably one of the best uniforms in all of Star Trek history.
Eric Francisco is a freelance entertainment journalist and graduate of Rutgers University. If a movie or TV show has superheroes, spaceships, kung fu, or John Cena, he’s your guy to make sense of it. A former senior writer at Inverse, his byline has also appeared at Vulture, The Daily Beast, Observer, and The Mary Sue. You can find him screaming at Devils hockey games or dodging enemy fire in Call of Duty: Warzone.
After 9 hours, I can’t bear to leave The Vatican in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
The next Evil Dead movie has an official title, and it sounds like it could be even more terrifying and intense than Evil Dead Rise
