After the semester in Iowa, Fletcher moved to New York City and worked as an actor, appearing in
Ethel Barrymore's last show,
Embezzled Heaven. He lived in a cold-water flat with artist Ruth Russell. They had an active social life Fletcher described as "an almost constant state of party", entertaining figures including novelists
Gore Vidal and
Anaïs Nin, dramatist
Tennessee Williams, and musician
Lead Belly. In 1960, Fletcher designed costumes for
The Tempest in
Stratford, Connecticut starring
Katharine Hepburn at the
American Shakespeare Theatre. His work in New York extended into television; in the 1950s he was NBC's "general designer". In 1989, Fletcher moved to
Taos, New Mexico, intending to retire, but ended up staying active doing design for
Bollywood movies and other projects in the United States, Europe, and Asia, including taking on commissions from one of his former assistants to do design work for HBO's
Rome and the
Game of Thrones television series. Fletcher's design archives have been donated to Harvard. Fletcher had a long association with the science fiction franchise
Star Trek. He served as costume designer for the first four
Star Trek feature films —
Star Trek: The Motion Picture,
The Wrath of Khan,
The Search for Spock, and
The Voyage Home. ==Awards==