'Star Trek: Discovery' Featurette Explains Mirror Universe's New Look

An official behind-the-scenes featurette explores Star Trek: Discovery's Mirror Universe wardrobe and how it pays homage to Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Mirror, Mirror."

"In terms of the aesthetic approach to the Mirror Universe, we knew we wanted to incorporate gold as sort of a nod to those gold sashes that they used in TOS," says executive producer Aaron Harberts.

"So we started from there, and Gersha Phillips, our incredible costume designer, just started to design these gold breast plates and gold accents that really built on that language."

"I absolutely love our Terran uniforms. I think it's sharp and dark and powerful but sleek," adds lead Sonequa Martin-Green, who plays Lieutenant Commander Michael Burnham. "I think it perfectly represents the Mirror Universe."

Actress Mary Wiseman, who plays Starfleet Academy cadet Sylvia Tilly, describes the look as "sexy gladiator murder gold."

"It was super fun to wear, it also feels very sexy and slippery, which echoes what it's like to be a leader in that universe," Wiseman says.

"I did look at The Original Series, and this sort of was my version of trying to do the sash belt but giving it a slightly more modern twist," Phillips says of the sleek costumes, also influenced by the metallic looks as seen in TOS.

"Gersha Phillips, our costume designer, formed a lot of our look in terms of our props, because once we saw her armor look, we knew exactly where to go," says props master Mario Moreira. "We were like, 'Oh, we can go that far? Alright, cool, we're gonna go that far.'"

"The thing that I saw in TOS' 'Mirror, Mirror' was the regalia, that extra little bit of stuff on them," Moreira explains. "Mirror Universe liked their bling, so we had to bling them all up with a lot of little fashion accessories."

Moreira calls designing the alternate universe "a lot of fun," saying it lent the filmmakers the opportunity to explore a change of scenery and aesthetic.

"They're such a brutal people, but they're also super glamorous and extravagant, so you really do get to step out of that Federation, industrial kind of look that we've set for our Prime universe," he says. "You really get to just [be] like, 'I'm gonna put some shininess here, some blingy-ness there, and some other fun stuff there.' It was fun."

New Star Trek: Discovery episodes become available to stream Sundays at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS All Access.