Twelve’s Rapidly Changing Look

Guest contributor Sam White examines the evolution of Capaldi’s look so far.

One of the most exciting phases of being a Doctor Who fan is the anticipation and unveiling of the new Doctor’s look post-regeneration, especially for fans who take pleasure in cosplay. Each Doctor, right from the first down to the twelfth packs a unique look and attire which tries to complement their personalities and provides them with a fresh and distinct appearance. It stands to reason that not all these looks are equally appreciated by the fans, like the Sixth Doctor’s colorfully extravagant ensemble or the Fifth Doctor’s celery clad cricketer look which draw heavily both, attention as well as criticism.

Initial Look

“Big scarf, bow tie, bit embarrassing. What do you think of the new look? I was hoping for minimalism, but I think I came up with magician.” – The Twelfth Doctor

Back when the Twelfth Doctor’s first look was released, it was described as the “100% Rebel Time Lord” look. His outfit, while distinctive and harking back to the Third Doctor, was met with a gush of mixed reactions from the fans. Many found it very minimal and unappealing when compared to his predecessors. Admittedly at the time I found the look to be extremely convincing and appropriate for the idea of Twelve as a ‘no nonsense Doctor. The minimal look juxtaposed with his fierce and vexed demeanor and provided him with an air of unpredictability.

Just like Ten’s standy-upy spiky hair and the Eleven’s massive chin, Twelve also possesses a defining physical trait – his mighty eyebrows, which can’t be separated from his overall look but the same doesn’t apply to his costume. Just as his character developed in the course of his first series, so did his attire and now that we are about halfway into Series 9 filming, the behind the scene photos floating around the internet show yet more radical changes to his look.

But before we move onto that let me backtrack a moment and gain some context by describing what exactly constituted the Twelfth Doctor’s initial wardrobe. It comprised of a short dark blue Crombie coat with an inner red lining, a full sleeved pure white shirt buttoned to the top with no tie, a dark blue cardigan, dark blue blend trousers and brogue boots. This entire exact line-up can be seen in Deep Breath and Into the Dalek.

We move into the variations with Robots of Sherwood, Time Heist and Kill the Moon where the Doctor simply wears various dark coloured shirts (polka dotted in case of Kill the Moon) under the Crombie coat instead of his signature white shirt and dark blue cardigan. Frankly for me this was not a welcome change as it took away from the whole rebel thing they were going for and added a touch of oddity to his appearance.

The black holey jumper

Then we have the black holey jumper which makes its appearance in Listen, The Caretaker, In the Forest of the Night and Death in Heaven. We see the Doctor simply replacing the authoritative shirt look with this trendy and laid-back jumper. Interestingly the jumper is Peter Capaldi’s own and not a part of the Twelfth Doctor’s wardrobe. For Flatline, Dark Water and Death in Heaven we again see the Doctor reverting to his original signature look, only this time replacing the dark blue cardigan for a black waistcoat lined with a shiny red back.

The Black Hoodie – Holey Jumper Combo

We move into weirder territory with the introduction of the black hoodie, allegedly first seen in Time Heist hiding the Doctor as the Architect. We see it in proper action again in Last Christmas coupled with the holey jumper proving to be the Twelve’s most distinct alternative look yet. Even from the handful of photos we have of Series 9, it can be seen that the Doctor will continue to carry the hoodie-jumper combo featured in Last Christmas at least for the opening two-parter.

Series 9 Variants From Filming

A few other images from filming so far show him wearing variations of plaid trousers and hoodie, along with a printed white T-shirt. Surprisingly this is a complete departure from his initial look and the only things that remain constant are his boots and the Crombie coat. I am refraining from making any concrete opinion at this time, but I do think that the plaid trousers are a bit of overkill, even if they are a way to give homage to the Second Doctor. As for the T-shirt, well if they are going for the ultimate laid-back look for the Doctor then I must say “Job well done.”- But I would also like to say that it adds remarkable incongruity between the Twelfth Doctor personality and his look.

The initial costume design for the Twelfth Doctor was done by Howard Burden with a substantial input from Peter Capaldi himself. Burden took on the role of costume designer with The Snowmen in 2012 and had been the costume designer for Series 7 and 8. For Series 9 we have Ray Holman returning as the costume designer. Holman was the costume designer for Series 5 and responsible for the Eleventh Doctor’s Tweed jacket look. It will be fascinating to see what he brings to the table.

As for my verdict and early conclusion on the topic, I have to say that I wish they had stuck with the look Twelve had in Flatline/Dark Water/Death in Heaven. It suited him brilliantly and magnified his presence. The evolution of his outfit at this point feels like a case of conflicting ideologies, albeit providing the cosplayers with sundry options.

Predicting the Final look

Before I leave you guys I would like to bring to your attention this amazing fan art by Veradune which motivated this article and which I think accurately predicts the final stage of Twelve’s outfit if he doesn’t get a haircut soon and continues down the road of the laid-back dude look.