OPINION
Air New Zealand’s new uniforms have been revealed to the public today. Fashion editor and co-author of Moana Currents: Dressing Aotearoa Now, Dan Ahwa offers his expert analysis of the new ensembles.
When it was announced in 2023 that London-based New Zealand fashion designer Emilia Wickstead won the pitch to re-design our national carrier’s uniforms, it was hard not to envisage what they could look like given Wickstead’s honed aesthetic; something refined, most likely elegant and in keeping with the designer’s sharp eye for tailoring, luxurious fabrics and colour.
Today, that uniform has had its first public reveal, and the results are typically on brand for Wickstead, who has built a name in the fashion world for her aesthetic of modern and elegant designs.
The most visually striking component is the use of a deep royal purple decorated with an illustrative, hand-painted print of a kōwhai frond by Wickstead’s creative collaborator, Bristol-based tā moko artist Te Rangitu Netana, whose previous fashion collaborations include local label Workshop and French luxury brand Hermes.
Another of Netana’s distinctive prints, the geometric diamond Purapura Whetū print, is a finer, more linear hand-drawn print. These designs sit in contrast to the more pronounced shapes of Trelise Cooper’s paisley/koru hybrid print on the current Air New Zealand uniforms, which have been a distinctive look for the airline since its debut in 2011. Netana’s prints are arguably easier on the eye and can translate seamlessly across different body types.
“The patterns on this uniform are a reflection of the land, the sea, and the connections that bind us all as Kiwi,” explains Netana of his prints.
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Advertise with NZME.“As a Māori artist on the world stage, I feel a deep responsibility in ensuring our culture is represented in a way that is authentic and meaningful. I’m proud that these designs have found a place in Air New Zealand’s uniform, bringing te ao Māori to designs that show up all over the world.”
Another contentious print from the current uniforms is the polarising design on the back of the men’s waistcoat, with references to kiwiana tropes including buzzy bees and the phrase “always blow on the pie”. While there’s room for humour and nostalgia, the time feels right to provide staff with prints that feel more aligned with our general desire for connection to our identity.
Wickstead’s new waistcoats utilise two unique prints - a pepeha print inspired by taaniko weaving patterns and a kaka feather print. Rendered in the uniform’s simple colour palette of black and purple, the new designs offer versatility and a visual point of interest.
Another key detail is asymmetry, a design detail in fashion that tends to serve uniform dressing well – whether it’s the skew-whiff scarf tied around the necks of flight attendants on Korean Air, the asymmetry colour-blocking lines of Martin Grant’s uniform for Qantas or how Emirates’ red pillbox hat with a cream chiffon scarf drapes from one side of the head and attaches around the neck. Wickstead has employed this subtle but impactful design detail by way of a tie-knot neckline on the shirt and dress, which offers a shortcut to chic.
But what stands out the most is the creative partnership between Wickstead and Netana. They are friends and have an understanding of New Zealand as a multi-cultural Pacific Island nation. Netana proudly hails from the Far North near Waipapa (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wai and Te Arawa) while Wickstead grew up understanding the values of a multicultural foundation; her father, Dennis Popham, is half-Samoan, and her mother, celebrated fashion and linen designer Angela Wickstead, is half-Italian.
In 2019, her commitment to reconnecting to Aotearoa was evident in her collaboration with The Woolmark Company, photographing her collection on a cohort of remarkable New Zealand women. One of those designs, a cloaked navy jumpsuit, was photographed and worn by Katie Milne, the first female president of New Zealand’s Federated Farmers and featured in my exhibition Moana Currents: Dressing Aotearoa Now, co-curated with The New Zealand Fashion Museum’s Doris De Pont.
In it, the synergy between contemporary dressing and Māori and Pacific influences were explored, so to see Wickstead continue to also explore similar dichotomy with this uniform is why it can be considered one of the more successful Air New Zealand uniform iterations in the company’s canon of extensive uniform archive.
Wickstead has paid particular focus on the significant contribution of our Pasifika communities with the inclusion of a formal wrap skirt/Ie Faitaga - another statement of progressiveness that national carriers should continue to acknowledge.
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“Designing the Air New Zealand uniform has been an incredibly personal project for me,” says Wickstead. “At the heart of it was a deep respect for the heritage and the unique identity of New Zealand’s people and land. It was essential to me that this uniform tells a meaningful story about Aotearoa.”
Smart double-breasted pinstripe blazers are another versatile inclusion for staff - with a subtle pinstripe for cabin crew, while a much bolder pinstripe has been used for the pilots’ uniforms, complete with shiny silver buttons. The pilots’ sharp suiting is, at first glance, a lot to take in, but a pilot’s uniform must command attention, if only to help remind even the most anxious flyer that they are in control.
Stalking down the halls of any international airport, these uniforms offer a sophisticated balance of national pride and inclusivity. While the uniforms of its predecessor felt more whimsical, Wickstead’s designs take into account just how much the lives of New Zealanders have changed since 2011. From earthquakes and elections to natural disasters, a mosque shooting, a hīkoi to parliament denouncing the Treaty Principles Bill and a global pandemic - this uniform signals dignity in the face of adversity, an example of a timely conversation that Wickstead is fluent in.
Fashion editor Dan Ahwa specialises in stories centred around the intersections of style, luxury, art and culture. He is the co-author of Moana Currents: Dressing Aotearoa Now.
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