Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker helped design Thirteen’s look

When Doctor Who returns later this year, Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker will be sporting a look the actress herself helped create.

Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker has only had about a minute of screentime on Doctor Who so far. But when Season 11 debuts later this year, the series’ first female Doctor will be sporting a costume she helped create.

In an interview with Doctor Who Magazine, Whittaker revealed that she had a pretty hands-on role in crafting the first female Doctor’s official outfit.

She said that she and costume designer Ray Holman — whom she also collaborated with on Chris Chibnall’s previous series Broadchurch — worked together to come up with Thirteen’s rainbow-striped shirt, blue pants and long coat look.

"Ray and I designed the costume from scratch. He was able to take a sometimes-bizarre explanation from me and then offer up exactly what I was trying to articulate. I’d have an idea and then he’d take it to the next level. My acorn of an idea would turn into an oak tree as soon as Ray got hold of it.We started in August and it went on until October. The very first meeting we had about the costume was all very secret and incognito. As we were talking I was completely distracted by the color of the wallpaper behind us. I told Ray I absolutely loved that color, and that’s the color of the trousers."

That teal is pretty fantastic, to be honest.

The BBC revealed Thirteen’s official look back in November, as filming began on season11. The outfit is both colorful and functional, with plenty of nods to previous Doctors thrown in. And most importantly, she’s dressed as the Doctor, not specifically as a female copy of same. There are no stupid Jurassic World-style heels. They didn’t go the uber-feminine route, the way they did when the Master regenerated into the Mistress. Her outfit is bold and zany, and looks just about perfect for running around space having adventures.

The official Doctor Who twitter shared a new look at Thirteen’s costume this week. (Look at those earrings!!!)

Whittaker isn’t the first Doctor to get considerable input on her outfit. Both Peter Capaldi and Matt Smith did as well. Capaldi famously found Twelve’s signature jumper at his favorite designer’s (Paul Smith) store. And Smith is the reason the Eleventh Doctor wears a bow tie. (He added it to the costume over Steven Moffat’s initial objection, apparently.) Nevertheless, it’s still extremely exciting to see the show’s first female lead taking the first female Doctor’s costume so seriously. (Which is fitting in and of itself — after all this is a huge part of the character!)

Bad news for Doctor Who cosplayers this time around though. Apparently every piece of Thirteen’s new look is custom-made for Whittaker. So none of us will be able to just pop around to a local department store and suit up. Though I imagine Etsy shops everywhere are already stocked with lookalikes. Or will be. Soon enough.

Next: Doctor Who: The TARDIS is dead, long live the TARDIS

Doctor Who season 11 is currently filming. It will air in the autumn of 2018.