From fashion runway to runways of the world

Cabin crew Marnie Saywell, left, and Laki Dometakis look over the Air New Zealand uniform to be retired next year. Picture / Dean Purcell

Air New Zealand's new uniform, which will be unveiled tomorrow, has been designed not just by leading local fashion label Zambesi, but also partially by the more than 4000 staff who will end up wearing the distinctly Kiwi look around the world next year.

The launch in Auckland of one of the biggest - and brand-wise most important - corporate uniforms in the country is being treated as a black-tie event by the national airline, which is flying in guests from overseas.

First to see the handiwork of designer Elisabeth Findlay will be Air New Zealand's own staff in a special dress-rehearsal afternoon show in which 23 of them will model the new pieces. In the evening, the staff models will again parade the garments before invited guests.

The details of the several million dollars of costs and the exact look of the uniform relaunch are being kept under wraps, but the Weekend Herald understands Zambesi's often edgy designs have corporate stylings, but with relaxed modern style. Traditional Air New Zealand colours remain but have been reinterpreted with a more modern palette and a distinctly New Zealand look.

"First and foremost we've designed this uniform for the Air New Zealand staff," Findlay said yesterday. "It had to be functional and fulfil their brief. But secondly we really hope it reflects New Zealand."

Mix-and-match pieces allow staff to dress to suit their body shape and are a result of an extensive survey process since collaboration began 18 months ago.

"Staff have been involved in the uniform design since the beginning, and they've continued to feed us valuable information," Findlay says.

Marnie Saywell, a member of the long-haul cabin crew who will be modelling the uniform tomorrow night, says: "There was a lot of input from staff as to what we wanted, which was brilliant."

The process began two years ago, when Air New Zealand called for design proposals from leading local fashion houses. Zambesi won the contract with their concept because as Tara Sargis, project manager for uniform development, puts it, "they just seemed to be going in exactly the same direction as the airline".

Workshops attended by several hundred staff from all areas of the business were followed by online surveys of thousands of them.

While some staff asked for five pockets in the jackets, others wanted a stylish look and a small group thought the uniform should be sexy.

"The one thing everyone said was don't mess with the koru," Sargis reports.

Those who have seen the uniform and test driven it in special disguised form are positive. Others are excited about seeing the update on the 1992 Barbara Lee design, which was to have been phased out at the turn of the century. The relaunch was first delayed when Air New Zealand charted a rocky financial course and then again to time with the introduction of new aircraft.

Now a huge logistical exercise is being planned to ensure all staff have the new uniform by late March.

In all there are 20 pieces, and staff will be issued a manual on how to wear the new look.

Zambesi's creative director Tulia Wilson, who flew back from Paris Fashion Week this week, says: "The staff on the plane who knew us wanted to know everything. They kept asking us for details."

Findlay says the new look is softer and more restful. With the company's new plane interiors, colours in the new uniform will better reflect the New Zealand landscape.

The old uniforms will be phased out with some pieces worn by other Air New Zealand staff, some destroyed and others donated to charity.