Red is Nyota’s signature color. Not only does she wear a red uniform, she consistently wears red off-duty.
Wow, this is so very late sixties.
I love that Uhura has something so wild to wear in her quarters. Totally legitimizes my theory that Nyota likes to dress up when she has the chance.
And as seen here, I’m pretty sure she’s wearing matchy match shoes – I love that’s a recurring thing in Star Trek fashion.
Also! The aesthetic of her quarters is AMAZING. I want that round corner dresser omg.
The dress’s appearance in The Search for Spock is a blink and you miss it and it sadly doesn’t get seen in full except in this publicity photo but LOOK at this publicity photo.
This dress has it all! It’s a minidresss like her TOS uniform. The color block side panels remind me of the Beyond uniform and Deanna’s Starfleet minidress in the TNG pilot. The bonkers sleeves resemble the dress above, and, especially with the necklace, have a vaguely Vulcan feel, which is wholly appropriate for this scene toasting Spock & McCoy and interrupted by Sarek (who Uhura later accompanies to Vulcan). The boots appear to be patent leather and the tops have a little Starfleet-esque triangle and I want them? And the blue cut outs match Kirk’s blue jacket which has red piping to match Uhura’s red dress and I love that so much.
In the equivalent ‘to absent friends’ scene in the third Kelvin film, Nyota also wears a bright red dress, tall boots, and a Vulcan necklace (my love for Beyond’s costumes and costumer only increases) .
This dress is also only on screen for about three minutes but it is such a fun, happy look. I love the scalloped edges of the top and the tiered effect of the skirt. The bright red color not only references her Starfleet uniform, it pops in the last shots of the film.
I was worried going into this film that Nyota’s established place in the reboot triumvirate (Kirk/Spock/Uhura) would be supplanted by McCoy to match the original series (Kirk/Spock/McCoy). I love McCoy as much as anyone, and Karl Urban definitely deserves space to stretch his wonderful version, but in my opinion one of the best things the reboot films do is place Uhura – a black woman – into the most top spot after the leads (and make her the main romantic interest).
But instead, Beyond is an ensemble picture that gives every member of the bridge crew a chance to shine and to work off each other and that makes me so incredibly happy.
Still, at the very end of the film, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, reunited and at peace with their position in Starfleet, look up to the future. And despite my happiness with the ensemble film I was sad that Uhura was not a part of the shot – but then she waltzed in, her red dress swinging, with champagne for herself and Spock, and all was right in my universe.