The Latest in Sci-Finery

The Series: “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”

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The Setup: Third-generation Trekkie fare set in the 24th Century. Good guys like Starfleet Commander Sisko (Avery Brooks, pictured left) and creeps like Quark (Armin Shimerman, pictured right) bump some strange-looking heads on an alien space station at the mouth of the Bajoran wormhole. Got that?

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The Designer: Robert Blackman, last year’s Emmy Award-winning costume designer for “Star Trek: The Next Generation”; makeup by Michael Westmore, two-time Emmy winner.

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The Rethought: Behold slight alterations in the standard Starfleet uniforms, but nothing a Trekkie might object to. The streamlined gear includes a zip-front jumpsuit, not unlike those worn on 20th-Century ski slopes.

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The New: Various sci-fi beings display a continuum of the inventive designs and contorted makeup seen on “TNG.”

Faces don’t get any stranger than the rodent-like Odo (Rene Auberjonois) or more weirdly charming than the tattoo-edged countenance of Dax (Terry Farrell).

Costumes feature unusual materials and 3-D textural effects, such as plastic tubing stitched through knits, channel-stitched leather, net fused with hard plastic forms and armor-like attire in latex. Blackman is the rare breed of TV designer who churns out nearly every piece from scratch, some 40 new costumes per week.

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The Sex Appeal Factor: Alluring these get-ups are not but, as on the ski slopes, well-toned bodies, such as Sisko’s, in body-conscious clothes have a certain potency.

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Quoted: “I experiment as much as I possibly can because it’s the future and nobody knows what it looks like, and because it’s easy to get in a rut,” says Blackman.

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Hit: Quark’s “sleazy Las Vegas” frock coat, as Blackman puts it, and fuzzy flamenco pants with side flanges.

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Miss: The sci-fi cliche--Grecian draped robes.

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Inspiration: Varied sources, including African tribal dress, rural Japanese clothing and ready-to-wear labels Issey Miyake, Thierry Mugler, Claude Montana and Commes des Garcons.

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Sources: Nearly all costumes are turned out at Paramount Studios by two dozen drapers, cutters, fitters and tailors working exclusively on “Deep Space Nine” and “TNG.”