Every time the Doctor Who team redesigns a costume, a new cultural icon is born. Fans look back fondly at the Fourth Doctor’s striped scarf, the Tenth Doctor’s four-buttoned suit, and the Eleventh Doctor’s purple vest and skinny jeans. Or at least they could have, if the BBC had gone with one of several rejected outfits for Matt Smith. Doctor Who fan Aaron posted a set of candid photos taken on the day Smith chose his Eleventh Doctor costume, only one of which actually featured the trademark tweed, suspenders, and bow tie.
See the ‘Doctor Who’ costumes that could have been
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
Many of these probably never came close to making it onto TV, but it’s clear that either Smith or the costume designers really liked vests and popped collars. And at least one bears a marked resemblance to Benedict Cumberbatch’s costume in Sherlock, also run by Doctor Who’s Stephen Moffat. With Matt Smith stepping down, we’re still waiting to see where the designers will go with Peter Capaldi, who was announced earlier this year as the Twelfth Doctor.
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