And it was Romijn’s idea for Una to wear the uniform style made famous by Nichelle Nichols (among others) in the Original Series, even though the show’s producers originally didn’t intend for skirts to be part of the official Starfleet wardrobe on the new show:

“I requested a Starfleet dress, which, the first answer was, ‘No. We’re just going to do pants and tops.”‘And then they came back around and said, ‘No, we changed our mind. Why don’t we start building uniform wardrobes,’ where sometimes I’m wearing Starfleet dress and sometimes not.”

The result is a nice touch: every character on “Strange New Worlds” has multiple uniforms, which they rotate through regularly (one of Captain Pike’s wardrobe options will have longtime “Trek” fans losing their minds). And while we do see Una wearing pants, her default uniform tends to be the skirt, and it was important to Romijn that she wear it even during hazardous situations:

“I made a specific request that the Starfleet dress shouldn’t just be on the Enterprise. I actually want to make sure that Starfleet dress goes into action and turn it into a badass Starfleet dress, so it’s not just like a flight attendant standing around on the enterprise.”

The result is a low-key subversion of sci-fi tropes. So often, the “badass” woman on board a spaceship is coded with more masculine features and dress — everyone aims for Vasquez from “Aliens.” But Una, second in command of the flagship vessel of Starfleet, wears her long hair down, paints her nails, and calls the shots while rocking an unapologetically feminine dress. “Strange New Worlds” is happy to put women in charge, and to let them embrace their femininity even when they’re shooting phasers on an away mission.

“I wanted to flip the narrative,” Romijn told me of her Starfleet dress. “I want to make sure it’s out there doing some action.”

“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” premieres on Paramount+ on May 5, 2022. It’s spectacular.