Variety: ‘Doctor Who’ Costume Designer on What Inspired Ncuti Gatwa’s Bold Look, From ’70s New York to Men in Skirts

[Coder]

https://variety.com/2024/artisans/globa ... 235988409/

In “The Church on Ruby Road,” we see the Doctor dancing in a club wearing a kilt. What inspired that look?

This was on my initial mood board, I had kilts on there and men in skirts. Russell sort of said, “It would be great for Ncuti to wear a skirt sometime.” But it was like, how do we introduce that? Do we wait a bit of time before we do that? Because it’s such a big jump from former Doctors.

And then we had this one little scene, which was this club scene, and I knew there was going to be a top shot and I said, “Russell, we have to have him in a kilt.” Because when he’s doing all this, it will just look amazing. And I gave him a jumper, rather than him just being in a vest, and Ncuti was like, “No! I’m just going to wear the vest with it.” And it was just a really lovely moment of things sort of coming together.

Progress?

[DrFishnets]

I used to be a big Doctor Who fan but I don’t like the direction the show has been going with all this woke rubbish. However, I think it’s good that kilts and skirts are being introduced to The Doctor’s outfit because the show has many viewers and fans and maybe this could make men in skirts more acceptable in public.

When I was younger I loved the outfits the past Doctors wore from the bohemian style of Tom Baker with the long scarf to the Edwardian cricket costume of Peter Davison to Colin Baker's multi coloured coat.

One thing I find baffling is that if Russell T Davies is in favour of the Doctor in a skirt then why didn’t he have David Tennant wearing Jodie Whittaker’s outfit after the regeneration even though Whittaker’s outfit didn’t consist of a skirt or dress. Davies explanation was that he didn’t want the media ridiculing Tennant is womens clothes.

[rivegauche]

David Tennant has already appeared on television dressed in women's clothes. Early in his career he played a trans barmaid in Rab C Nesbitt.

[DrFishnets]

David Tennant has already appeared on television dressed in women's clothes. Early in his career he played a trans barmaid in Rab C Nesbitt.

David Tennant also dressed in women’s clothes when he dressed up as a female Doctor Who companion in a short Doctor Who spoof shown on a Channel 4 television show.