Day Eight
It’s day EIGHT on the
Twelve Regenerations Of Christmas, so I have eight drawings to show you today.
I thought I’d take a look back at the surviving designs for The Doctor’s costumes.
The earliest Doctors were dressed as Edwardian gentlemen, and given the haphazard way parts of the series came together in the 1960s, it is unlikely a formalised drawn design was produced. If they were, they haven’t survived.
Jon Pertwee’s iconic Inverness Cape was allegedly his father’s, so it was Jon himself who provided the look of his Doctor.
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| Design © James Acheson |
The earliest costume design I could track down was by James Acheson.
He had already created some of the most memorable costumes from the Jon Pertwee era, and it fell to him to crete a new look for a new Doctor in 1974.
You can hear his recollections of it on
The Mutants DVD.
He explained how the scarf’s length came about by accident and how later designers put Tom in longer coats, so I don’t think this is the original design.
Either way it’s a nice drawing.
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| Design © June Hudson |
With a change of producer (John Nathan-Turner) a notable change of look enveloped the series, and it was down to legendary designer June Hudson to re-imagine Tom’s costume.
She was inspired by a Russian military greatcoat, long and flowing; added knee-length knickerbockers and a looser feel around the neck with an open top shirt.
And all in a co-ordinated plum colour.
June’s designs are always a joy to look at, and this is no exception.
My most popular entry, the Tie Index, sets out to document the ties worn by David Tennant.
In the mid 1970s I started keeping a scrapbook in which I stuck any Doctor Who photos (often taken from the Radio Times) or related memorabilia I found that interested me.
But spare a thought for the early days of the exhibitions where things were on a more low key note.
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