United Airlines goes with three designers for new uniforms

United Airlines is using three different designers for their new uniforms. Essentially one designer is responsible for the ladies, another for the gentlemen and a separate one for the non-customer facing staff.

Usually a single designer or design house is responsible for all the various uniforms in an airline’s collection. For example, British Airways have engaged Ozwald Boateng for their new uniforms and designer Louise Kennedy will be responsible for those at Aer Lingus.

Different Designers, Different Pieces

One reason for the variety in designers is that the female staff at United felt they were wearing uniforms designed for men. This is why Tracy Reese was tapped to do the ladies uniforms for inflight and ground customer service staff. Colours and patterns were thought to be lacking.

Male uniforms are designed by Brooks Brothers. One of their designers, Brian Lane, stated to USA Today that, “We wanted them to be proud of what they’re wearing, but I also I didn’t want to be cookie-cutter like the typical uniforms that are out there.” Ramp service, technical operations and catering operations will have uniforms by Carhartt. Wear testing of these uniforms is already underway. At the end of the month it is expected wear testing of all the other uniforms will take place. They will be in colours that blend in to the existing uniform before the proper roll out, after any tweaks needed after testing, in late 2020.

Overall Thoughts

Airlines seem to be climbing on the bandwagon and choosing designers to create new looks for their employees. In addition to British Airways and Aer Lingus, American Airlines have also recently selected new designs. These follow in the footsteps of Delta and Turkish Airlines who both introduced new looks in 2018.

What do you think of the new look for United Airlines employees? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

To never miss a post, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
All my flight and lounge reviews are indexed here so check them out!

With thanks to WWD.