The Most Stylish Flight Attendant Uniforms
Overstuffed overhead racks. Ten-abreast coach seats on 15-hour flights. A la carte this, à la carte that. These are the realities of air travel in economy in 2018—and they're not particularly glamorous. But even as drink carts pummel your elbows and your seat-back TVs flicker and go dark, there’s still a tiny sliver of elegance when airborne: the clothes. Airlines have a long history of tapping designers to create their staff uniforms, and the tradition, of late, has yielded some noteworthy and chic results (even when those airlines have not used quote-unquote “famous” names). Here are some recent mile-high hits.
This gallery was originally published in 2015. It has been updated with new information.
Courtesy Hainan AirlinesHainan Airlines
Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines collaborated with designer Laurence Xu to debut its new uniforms at Paris Couture Week fall/winter 2017. The updated outfits combine classical Eastern style—namely the cheongsam, a traditional Chinese dress—with Western aesthetics, a nod to both traditional service and a global future. After 1,000 design blueprints and hundreds of garment and accessory samples, the airline and Xu settled on these uniforms, which combine traditional elements like the roc, a mythical bird, with sleek lines and cloud-and-sea patterns for a blend of the old and the new.
Qantas
For Qantas, Australia’s own Martin Grant—a past favorite of both Tilda Swinton and Lady Gaga—opted to design bold, punchy uniforms that invoke the same diagonal linearity and swoosh as the airline's world-famous kangaroo logo. With red-lapeled trench coats and dresses in red, navy, and fuchsia, the uniform aspires to be timeless. “I tend to look toward simplicity: nothing too complicated or tricky,” Grant says.
Courtesy Turkish AirlinesTurkish Airlines
Just in time for the opening of Istanbul's new airport in late October, Turkish Airlines delivers a glam new line of staff uniforms designed by Italian couturier Ettore Bilotta. The collection looked to Istanbul for inspiration, and the campaign was shot in and around some of the ancient city's sites, like the Bosporus and the Spice Bazaar: "I wanted to bring elements from traditional calligraphy and mosaics together with the new interpretations of Turkish motifs," Bilotta says. Spanning everything from hats and gloves to shift dresses and tailored suits, the uniforms will be hard to miss thanks to an eye-popping shade of ruby red contrasted with charcoal gray.
Vueling Airlines
Vueling is a Spain-based low-cost carrier, but just because it caters to the leisure and budget markets doesn’t mean its “look” isn’t sophisticated. The company debuted its sleek uniforms in 2015, after working with its staff to perfect the designs. We’re particularly fond of the dove-gray wrap coats with contrasting edges, and the clean, double-band stripes on the scarves.
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Courtesy DeltaDelta
Zac Posen is no stranger to versatility: The former Project Runway judge has dressed Rihanna, Michelle Obama, and even David’s Bridal customers. Stepping away from the red carpet, his collection for Atlanta-based Delta features mix-and-match separates in a sleek palette of purple, gray, and red, with alliteration-happy names like Groundspeed Graphite and Passport Plum—though we’ve seldom seen a purple passport. The collection, which Posen says is all about "form and function," was adopted by the airline’s 60,000-some employees and given a refresh in spring 2018.
Courtesy Virgin AtlanticVirgin Atlantic
Vivienne Westwood’s glamorous crew uniforms are a throwback to 1940s French couture designs, with a narrow-cut silhouette (a classic Westwood look) in the airline’s iconic red hue. Women's uniforms comprise a white ruffled blouse—first seen in her Red Label spring/summer 2005 collection—tucked into a pleated pencil skirt, and a structured jacket nipped in at the waist. Meanwhile, the gents sport Savile Row-inspired three-piece numbers—quintessentially British. The uniforms are eco-friendly, too: The polyester yarn comes from recycled plastic bottles.
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ANA
Japan’s ANA (All Nippon Airways) revealed its latest uniforms in 2014, designed by the Nepalese-born, New York-based designer Prabal Gurung. Having made waves on the red carpet and with VIPs (Michelle Obama is a fan), Gurung’s airside wares retain a touch of that paparazzi-ready shine with graphic racing stripes down blouses and pretty, flowery scarves.
China Eastern
The house of Christian Lacroix designed Shanghai-based China Eastern’s latest uniforms, which feature simple navy shirt-dresses closured by contrasting, bright-red belts.
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Tigerair Australia
Tigerair Australia—a subsidiary of Virgin Australia—introduced its signature uniforms in 2015. The look? Coolly color-blocked shift dresses and long-sleeved tops in white, pewter, silver, and tangerine. They’re quite sporty, too.
China Airlines
Taipei’s China Airlines uniforms, designed by William Chang, have a slightly retro quality, and, in a way, remind us of Balenciaga spring 2008—which, with its strong, structured silhouettes and graphic shapes, is always, always a good thing.
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GettyAlitalia
Italian designer Alberta Ferretti released a new capsule collection of sleek staff uniforms for Alitalia back in June 2018. The new navy blue suits, pencil skirts, and jackets are made from "no season" fabric (read: breathable) and are accented with a subtle nod to the Italian flag—tricolor ribbons—and details like gold buttons, bright red ties, and delicate silk scarves. “I wanted sober lines and for Italian elegance to travel around the world,” says Ferretti. Love fashion and airline memorabilia? You can buy unisex Alitalia sweatshirts and T-shirts on the Alberta Ferretti site.
Brandon Wade/Courtesy American AirlinesAmerican Airlines
When it comes to uniforms, American Airlines hasn't had the best track record of late: The most recent designs caused 1,600 employees to break out in hives, according to the union, after they were rolled out in 2016. Thankfully, AA employees just voted on a whole new, rash-free look, set to debut in 2019. Dubbed 'Modern Voyage,' the collection will be overseen by Lands' End, and will be all about sharp tailoring, patterned shirts and scarves, and, unsurprisingly, comfort. Initial trial-runs of the uniforms begin next month.