Gersha Phillips Reveals She Has a “Klingon Store”, Why Michelle Yeoh Wore So Much Leather on Discovery

Emmy nomination voting has started, but that doesn’t mean that some of the creatives behind Star Trek: Discovery have stopped making the rounds.

AwardsDaily.com interviewed Discovery’s costume designer Gersha Phillips recently and while we’ve heard from Phillips before, there were a couple new nuggets worth telling you about.

When asked whether she had gone back to Star Trek: The Next Generation for Klingon couture inspiration, she confirmed that she looked at their costumes and some earlier pieces. She also revealed that she found a company that she calls her “Klingon store” and said, “I borrow their pieces, and we work them into what we’re already doing. I feel like L’Rell’s collar or the cape comes from them. We took it and made it drop all the way to the floor. We used their same wiring technique and used a different leather to make it.”

She went on to describe how they used sequins, lace and a paint treatment to give the piece an alien feel. They used similar techniques on other pieces too. Phillips said of the coat that L’Rell wears in the “Call me Mother” scene, “that coat is a great coat. It’s from my Klingon store. We did a few tweaks to it. There’s that amazing shot where you come in and go over her head, it was such a great look.”

Phillips also explained some of the former Empress Georgiou’s dress sense. When AwardsDaily mentioned how much leather Michelle Yeoh wore in Discovery’s second season, Phillips responded, “As the emperor, that’s how we introduced her in the mirror universe. I feel it’s almost her armor. The idea of the Terran is they were always ready for a throwdown at any time and you see that when Burnham tries to kill her in the elevator. I think they’re always ready for a battle.”

Good luck to Gersha Phillips, and of course the rest of the Star Trek: Discovery team; Emmy nomination voting closes next Monday, June 24th.