The Doctor as a Fashion Icon

Today I’m wearing an outfit that, to fans of Doctor Who, will look overtly inspired by Peter Capaldi’s interpretation of the title character. To non-Whovians it’ll look, perhaps, quite dandy and fashion forward – more at home in London, Paris, or New York than on the rainy streets of a rural town in Lincolnshire.

Interestingly, my obsession with Doctor Who fashion started with my introduction to the show. The first episode I watched was David Tennant’s first ‘proper’ outing as the 10th Doctor, 2006’s ‘New Earth’, the start of series two of the revived Doctor Who.

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The “Rebel” Nine

The ninth Doctor relaunched Doctor Who to an entirely new generation of viewers. Christopher Eccleston was the man cast in the title role and he was faced with the mammoth task of updated, reinvigorating, and re-imagining the part for the twenty first century.

Though Eccleston’s time aboard the TARDIS was short-lived, he successfully ingratiated himself with Saturday evening viewers and catapulted Doctor Who back into the hearts and minds of the British viewing public. Following the first series of NuWho, Eccleston departed – vacating the role and being replaced by fan favourite David Tennant.

While Tennant is immensely popular and helped to send the show’s popularity into overdrive, without Eccleston Doctor Who could very well have failed.

One of the biggest surprises when photos began to roll in from the 2005 series was the somewhat ordinary nature of the ninth Doctor’s costume. When thinking of Doctor Who many people conjure up images of long scarves, velvet jackets, and cricket whites – so Eccleston’s pared down and simple costume immediately set people aback as to whether or not this was going to be Doctor Who proper.