Picard's jacket

Was it ever explained why they changed the shoulders on Picard's jacket from leather, to fabric?





Personally, I think the leather looks much better!

 

That's a great name for a band: "Picard's Jacket"

 

The leather was threatening to outshine the captain.

 

I've always wondered why they had him wearing a jacket in the first place. I mean I know why Torres on Voyager was wearing the jacket/smock in season 4 of Voyager. But the same reason would not apply for Picard.

I think the fabric one actually looks better.

 

I'm afraid I think they both were silly. Why did he have a jacket with such different cut and cloth to other people.

I thought it was silly that Starfleet changed their uniform that much to be honest.

 

I recall an interview from the time where the producers wanted various outfits for Picard after being on the air 4 seasons. Kirk's second tunic was inspiration needed to create a 2nd "look" for Picard.

 

I always wondered the opposite. They seemed to send people on away missions without giving much thought to the environment on the surface or how the weather could rapidly change. Some of the places they got stuck (like Mab-Bu VI in Power Play) had some chilly looking weather. In the Trek films they would dress for the environment using jackets, or even parkas. But in the series they rarely changed clothes for missions (other than Worf's occasional ninja outfits.)

 

I heard they wanted an "action outfit" for the captain so he'd look cool in fight scenes.

Jacket anecdote: My friend Frank liked the Jacket so much when he first saw it in "Darmok", that he begged my wife to make one for him. He supplied all the material, and we sat in front of the TV, FFing and REWing a tape of Darmok for hours, making sketches. She mad a really nice copy of the jacket, but the end result is that she refuses to ever see that episode again. She's been known to scream and run from the room if it's on.

 

Was Darmok the first time the jacket was seen?

 

^ Yes.

 

I believe it was the first time the leather one was seen.

 

As I recall, Picard's jacket was there to conceal Patrick Stewart's pregnancy, so viewers wouldn't suddenly ask who the father of Picard's baby was after Stewart gave birth.

 

Loved Picard's jacket. Never noticed there were two versions, I like the leather one better. Not sure why he ever stopped wearing it, or why he wore that big thick Wesley-style sweater underneath. He must have been baking.

 

I liked the alternate uniform at first, but looking back not so much. It's bulky, and looks uncomfortable. A better choice might have been an update of the Kirk/Scotty "bomber" jacket. That one was a good design.

 

It's just as silly as Kirk's wrap-around tunic.


I actually liked both Picard's jacket and Kirk's tunic.

 

Yeah I'm pretty sure they ditched the leather one because the studio lighting made it too shiny. He looked more like an old biker instead of a Starship Captain.

Also, that thing had to be hot, maybe not as hot as TOS movie uniforms but still too hot to be worn indoors....or in ship.

 

I've decided that all of the Star Trek movies must have the ship temperature set near freezing, the TNG movie ones look like winter gear.

 

That makes sense. Cheers!

 

I happen to know that the leather patches were stitched on by Picard himself when he went through a rebellious rock phase. He had intended to attach a massive Motorhead logo to the back of the jacket but Admiral Nechayev spotted the patches and ordered him to remove them. He sulked in his quarters for a few days, listening to Judas Priest and Black Sabbath, before returning to duty with the new jacket.

A deleted scene from 'Ethics' features Picard in the holodeck rocking out with Lemmy but it was felt it wasn't in keeping with the themes of the episode.