ThinkGeek's new TNG beach-wear

ThinkGeek have launched a new range of swim and beach wear inspired by costumes from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Continue below to check out all your summer uniform options:

Trek-wear: Amazing prints, cosy jumpers, sportswear, maternity, and more!

A bumper Trek-wear update for you today, with enough Star Trek inspired clothing to fill a wardrobe! That includes, jumpers and jackets, legging and socks, boots, sportswear, maternity wear, dresses, and more.

First up, these amazing kaleidoscope print designs, which are available from ThinkGeek. Both feature a TOS inspired print, made from images of the Enterprise and various icons, in a floral/firework style burst. A yellow toned version is used for a skirt, while a red-infused variant makes up the skirt of a dress.

Leggings, Hawaiian shirts, and more creative Trekwear from Mighty Fine

Mighty Fine have recently released several new creative forms of Star Trek clothing, including this glorious TOS Hawaiian shirt!

Continue below for more TOS and TNG themed releases from Mighty Fine, including leggings, ties, and a sweater!

Trekwear: Her Universe's Geek Couture, and more

This week at the San Diego Comic Con, Her Universe showed off "Geek Couture" at their fashion show, with fandom fashion on the catwalk. Lots of popular sci-fi series were referenced in designs for the show, including, of course, Star Trek. The mirror universe was the inspiration for Laura E. Desch's design "Starfleet's Finest", a take on mirror-Kirk, modelled by Michele Morrow. Here's StarTrek.com's photo of the outfit:

Michele Morrow also posted this image on her Facebook page, showing her with Laura Desch, and highlighting the beehive hairdo, and golden make-up, by Anissa Emily.

You can see much more from the Geek Couture show thanks to Popsugar's coverage, where you'll find designs based on various comic-book super-heroes, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and many more geeky inspirations. My favourite is this fantastic Doctor Who scarf dress:

Continue after the jump for more of the latest Trekwear:

Trekwear: New licensees, Anovos uniforms, cuddles, and ThinkGeek creations

Need some Trek for your wardrobe? Well several new Star Trek licensees should be able to help you out, as Licensing.biz reported, CBS have signed up several new companies to make Star Trek apparel and more:

• Brooklyn Briefcase – Martial arts apparel for the US and Canadian markets.
• Mitch Dowd – Sleepwear, underwear, and general apparel in Australia and New Zealand.
• NTD Apparel – Star Trek/The Big Bang Theory co-branded apparel.
• Hunter – Gifts and novelty products. 
• Gary Gurmukh Sales – Souvenir merchandise in Canada.

There's nothing to show from any of these companies yet. There is from another new licensee though: Canadian company, Lady Sandra, have launched a new range of blankets and other comfort makers. That includes the "cuddle wrap", a blanket with sleeves, which Lady Sandra have produced in the style of Commander Spock's uniform:

They also have a USS Enterprise cushion, using the Haynes Manual cutaway diagram, and two blankets with snaps. As best I can tell none of these are actually on sale yet.

For a much more formal look, Anovos' new TNG era Admiral uniform might be more your thing. Made to their usual high standards and fidelity to the uniforms seen onscreen, the Admiral uniform will be available in either command red, or operations yellow. To complete the look Anovos are also making new Admiral's rank pips. The uniform is currently up for pre-order, following Anovos' usual structure of offering a discount to the first to sign up. They expect to ship in December.

Continue after the jump for more views of the Admiral uniform, and the latest apparel from ThinkGeek.

Final TOS retro print set

This month sees the twentieth, and final, set of prints in Juan Ortiz's series of TOS retro designs (don't worry about withdrawal though, the TAS series is still to come), and as usual StarTrek.com have previewed the set, with commentary on each design by Ortiz, highlights from which follow.

My favourite from this rounds has to be Where No Man Has Gone Before, as the title is a phrase used throughout Star Trek it makes quite a nice general Trek op-art poster.

Where No Man Has Gone Before

The image was created in Adobe Illustrator. A lot of it is by trying and failing until I get it right. I may have spent more time figuring out the color before finally settling in on the blue.

Shore Leave

It began with the rabbit. I tried several different illustration styles, but couldn't quite get the right level of seriousness. The collage direction was the way to go, for me. The grays and muted colors give it a more mature look, away from the obvious guy-in-a-rabbit-suit aspect of the episode.

Apparently this was one of Ortiz' favourite designs:

I seem to have a different favorite depending on my mood, but this one keeps popping up. I like when an idea comes together with ease, like this one did. It's simple, but works without being too illustrative or too colorful. It's the right balance of seriousness that I was trying to achieve, especially when your main image is a rabbit in a suit. I wanted it to be more thought-provoking. If you're a Star Trek fan, you'll get it. If you're not a Star Trek fan, you will hopefully want to watch the episode.

Metamorphosis

I wasn't trying for anything fancy on this one. I felt like I had a pretty good layout, so I kept it as is.

Turnabout Intruder

I had been inspired by Japanese posters. That's why the copy is so bold. It morphed into more of a magazine cover, instead. But that's okay. Where I start is not as important as where I end. I did spend a lot of time at the magazine section of the Japanese bookstore. So that may account for the course change.

Despite the obvious, I did not pick the pink and blue because of the male/female switch in the episode. I wanted something bold and the blue and black both really popped against the pink. I was worried that this one may not sit well with the rest of the group, but it makes a good segue into the more brighter Animated Series prints that I created the next year.

As ever all four designs will be released as a set of posters, as well as printed on T-shirts, and shot glasses.

To mark the end of the series, We Love Fine also have a promotional offer; if you want enough Star Trek T-shirts to keep you clothed for almost three months without doing any washing, you can buy the entire series of eighty designs for 20% off the full price, which takes it down to just $1600.

Continue after the jump for a look at how the designs from this final set translated to the different formats:

TOS retro prints set 19

The penultimate set of prints in Juan Ortiz's series of TOS retro designs are out this month, and as ever StarTrek.com have previewed the set, with commentary on each design by Ortiz, highlights of which follow. I think they've saved the best to (almost) last, with Ortiz's brilliant poster design for The Cage in the set:

Ortiz had this to say about The Cage, which he gave a different treatment to other designs in the series:

Although I may have been able to work this into the "Menagerie," the style of the art wouldn't have been the same.

I had always admired Shag's work and since this episode wasn't shown until sometime in the 80s (not including the "Menagerie"), I was able to go more contemporary with it. I thought it would be the best one to mention Alexander Courage, as well.

Who Mourns For Adonais?

Ortiz's identified Saul Bass as one of the influences for this one, noting:

I like when there's a fine line between design and illustration. Picasso is also a major influence for this one and other posters.

I think the colors play a big part in this one. I can almost imagine this painted on a wall of an Italian restaurant. Right down to the olive Enterprise.

Friday's Child

The work of Joaquín Pertierra was the inspiration for this one. Specifically his Graphic Eye cover from April 1967.

There's a lot of back and forth with colors, sometimes for days. I was also mindful of the posters that came before and after, and whether or not it needed to be more colorful.

The Carbomite Maneuver

When taken into the context of the sixties, mankind was in the process of taking baby steps into a new frontier. So it seemed like the writer wanted to tell a story about just how far mankind still needed to go. My image could be Balok's hand or it could also suggest the hand of mankind reaching out to the stars, reminiscent of the apes from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Ortiz also noted why he didn't such some of the obvious icons from the episode:

The ship was a big reveal in the episode, so I didn't want to give it away on the poster. Balok would have been equally revealing, but by just hinting at him, I hope to generate some interest from the new viewer.

As ever all four designs will be released as a set of posters, as well as printed on T-shirts, and shot glasses. As is often the case, We Love Fine's T-shirts feature slightly different versions of the artwork, without the straight rectangular framing of being a poster; The Corbomite Maneuver even has an extra element in the design to pull the design out of its framing. Continue after the jump for a look at the glasses and T-shirts, plus another completely unreleated Star Trek T-shirt from We Love Fine, which could be a strong candidate for the weirdest Star Trek T-shirt ever made!

January's retro prints

StarTrek.com have previewed this months set of TOS retro prints, the eighteenth set form Juan Ortiz. As ever they posted with some commentary on the designs from Ortiz:

The Galileo Seven

It's been compared to an episode of Lost in Space, where the Robinson family encounters a giant cyclops. That's actually because the Star Trek episode brings back memories of the Lost in Space model kit that I had as a kid, which is what the poster is based on.

The Enemy Within

...this image is Russian-inspired. There's not a lot going on in this one. I did mirror the image. But it's the mirrored font that really makes this one unique from the rest.

The Apple

This one started with a full image of Vaal, the snake-headed computer, being fired upon by the Enterprise. But I was also inspired by the word "apple" in the title. So the serpent’s eye represents the snake from the Garden of Eden.

Wolf in the Fold

This one was inspired by the horror movies of the 40's through 60's. I wanted more of a "B" movie feel for it, rather than a very detailed illustration from the Universal movies.

I was careful not to get too graphic with the knife. I made certain there was no blood, but instead placed a red planet behind the female crew-member, to evoke the blood. The mist coming from the knife that turns into a face… that adds a more fantasy element to it.

These designs will be released as the usual posters, as well as printed on T-shirts, and shot glasses (see how they look in those forms after the jump):

Latest Trek-wear: Spock-socks, uniforms, and competition T-shirts

Some of the latest Trek-fashion to enjoy: Starting with possibly the weirdest item of Trek clothing I can recall. Previously you've been able to get costume Spock ears, even ones attached to a Christmas hat, or a hoodie (and indeed a hoodie for dogs!), but now you can get your very own Spock ears at handy floor-level, with the new Spock-socks (Spocks for short?):

Yes, you are actually seeing socks with poky-out ears...

Speaking of socks: Those are just one of the many garment types to have been transformed into Starfleet uniforms before. One day, the nice people at CBS will run out of clothing to give the uniform treatment. But that day is a long way off. So now, determined to turn your entire wardrobe into some sort of Starfleet uniform, are the new TNG uniform style hoodies, from ThinkGeek. Available in all three department colours of course:

We Love Fine are also in that game, here are their latest TOS uniform T-shirts. These are a female cut, with rank marks on the short sleeves:

If you'd prefer not to mock Starfleet's uniform code though, you'll be in need of the services of Anovos, purveyors of high-end replica Starfleet uniforms. The latest addition to their range is the TNG female jumpsuit:

Finally, for some creative Trek-ware, you might like some of the designs from We Love Fine's latest T-shirt design competition. Here's the winning design, continue after the jump for a look at the runners-up, or check out We Love Fine's results page for more information on each design.

Latest Trek T-shirts

I think there are a sufficiently wide range of Star Trek T-shirts available, that if you were so inclined, you could probably wear a different design every day of the year. With so many about I don't even try to catalogue them all (especially as most of them are pretty unoriginal), but do like to pick out the best now and then, so here are my latest favourites:

Trevco have addressed something that often bothers me about T-shirts; they're basically plain aside from a rectangle of design on the front, essentially turning the shirt into a frame. Not so with these cool new full-bleed designs. All based on TOS, they take inspiration from multiple sources, including the ever popular retro look from Gold Key Comics, the latest use of the Haynes Manual Enterprise cross-section, and an effortless way to give yourself Khan's chest:



Continue after the jump for a few more recent highlights from the world of Trek-T's:

Trek art: New TAS and Klingon designs

Star Trek: The Animated Series is forty years old on Sunday! To celebrate the anniversary CBS are embarking on another poster project, and like the Juan Ortiz TOS series, they plan to release designs based on every episode of the series. io9 have revealed the first two designs, based on Yesteryear and Beyond the Farthest Star. There's no information yet on the artist, or when/how these will be distributed:

Elsewhere in the world of Trek-art, Generation Gallery have added a new design to their Star Trek fine art collection: A pair of Klingon portraits featuring Chang and Worf. These are a limited edition of 195.

Finally, this month's batch of Juan Ortiz TOS designs are also now available as T-shirts and glasses. See how they look in those forms after the jump:

August's retro print T-shirts and glasses

As usual, the reveal of this month's retro print designs from Juan Ortiz has been followed by the designs getting applied to T-shirts and glasses as well. Since I posted the poster designs StarTrek.com have done their usual feature, with Juan Ortiz explaining some of his inspirations and thought process, so here's each of the Mighty Fine T-shirts with the Ortiz commentary:

Plato's Stepchildren

This one, of course, was inspired by the Gone with the Wind poster. It's very iconic and captures the moment.

Sometimes I'll layout a concept in illustrator and then move from there. But I remember being excited by the eyelashes, of all things. They came out so rough yet simple. It may sound strange, but I knew the poster would work, based on those lashes. The rest of the piece just had to work to accentuate them.

Originally, the scratches were supposed to imply an old paperback cover, but I feel that the end result is more of an old Roman fresco wall painting. That works for me, too.

The Mark of Gideon

I remember doing several layouts, but not having any luck. The episode itself makes little sense. Why create an entire duplicate of the Enterprise when all they really needed to do was ask to relocate part of the population to another planet. Easier said than done, I guess. That's why my poster has the Enterprise leaving a desperate population behind.

Journey to Babel

The word journey in the title implied a voyage aboard a tall ship to me. Since the Enterprise has no tall sails, I compensated by cropping in close and evoking the tall sail image. The shuttlecraft helps add depth and scale and makes up for not being used in my version of “The Galileo Seven” poster.

Return of the Archons

For some reason I pictured an article or story in the Sunday paper with this image of the two sentinels. When I was a kid, I used to love going through all the papers on Sunday. I'm sure it was a ritual in many homes before the computer. Creating artwork for newspapers is what editorial illustration is all about. I would do it every day.

And here are the designs on the Bif Bang Pow glasses:

Comic Khaaan

I Khan't believe there's another Star Trek exclusive coming to the San Diego Comic Con, and yet, there is. Coming from We Love Fine is a groan-inducing Comic Khaaan T-shirt, featuring Kirk's ever popular screamy face:

No nuSpock variant?

In other T-shirt news, check out this new Starfleet propaganda style design coming from Freeze:

July's TOS retro prints

With the start of another month comes the latest quartet of TOS retro prints from Juan Ortiz. MTV Geek and Entertainment Weekly have together previewed this month's designs, UPDATE: StarTrek.com has now posted the whole set (sans watermarks), with their usual commentary from Juan Ortiz. This month's collection features Orions, pulp fiction, and funky Zetarians:

Whom Gods Destroy

Ortiz had to do this one twice, I think he landed on something really good though, so worth all the work:

This was actually the second design. The first had photos of Yvonne Craig and William Shatner in a Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill!-inspired poster. CBS did not have the rights to Yvonne's likeness, so I had to rework it from scratch. Maybe someday the original can be shown.

To avoid any conflict, I went instead with a James Bond-inspired poster. I'm happy with the way it turned out and I don't miss the original concept at all.

The Lights of Zetar

It wasn't until I got to the last scene of the episode that I was able to form an idea for this poster. Once I had it, I had to make sure that the colors didn't mimic my "Trouble with Tribbles" poster. The idea for a spotlight effect derived from it looking a bit flat. The spotlight and the tiny Enterprise above helps add some depth to it.

Tomorrow is Yesterday

It didn't start out as a magazine cover, but the design led me in that direction. It was fun to imagine myself back in 1967 designing a magazine cover with the term Trekkies on it. Trekkies were new back then, so it was nice to finally include them in this poster set. Originally, the blurb on the bottom read, "Are The Beatles Time Travelers?" It may have been a copyright issue, so we went instead with the moon-landing question.

The Devil in the Dark

I always try to design a poster with a new viewer in mind. Elements from the episode are there, and they're just placed into a design that gives an expression of space rather than being underground.

For the sake of those that had never seen the episode, I did not want to show the Horta on the poster. As I re-watched "The Devil in the Dark," the smoldering imprint of a man left on the ground made for a powerful image. It's reminiscent of the "shadows" left behind by the bombs dropped on Japan.

The poster set should be available to order soon,while Entertainment Earth and Mighty Fine have already got listings up for the glasses and T-shirt versions of these designs. You can see those after the jump, as well as news of a Mighty Fine Star Trek design competition: