Qantas designer uniforms
Reading Time: 3 minutesWhich is more important for a company? External kudos or internal PR?
It’s no surprise to us at Fashionizer to hear that Qantas airline staff, who today start wearing their new Qantas designer uniforms, are not happy. Their main criticism seems to be that the uniforms are too tight and not practical for the job that flight attendants have to do.
Designing uniforms that are fit for purpose is something that is right at the top of the Fashionizer agenda. We are specialists in the field of designing and manufacturing hospitality and spa uniforms (we’ve been doing it for 20-odd years) and we have a check-list of key requirements for any staff uniform we are asked to create. Just for starters…
Is the design flexible enough to complement staff body shapes?
Does the design reflect the brand values of the company?
Are they comfortable to work in?
Does the design fulfil all the requirements of the job?
Is the uniform durable?
Of course the look and branding are critical, but our bug-bear over the years has been that high-profile fashion designers are brought in to companies to create staff uniforms without any experience of dealing with clothing that has to be functional. There are a multitude of pitfalls and a few clever tricks that we know about – and we put this expertise to good use in everything we do.
For us it is a little bit like asking someone who has years of experience in designing handbags to make you a chair. The chair-maker will have specialist knowledge that the handbag-maker cannot possibly have: best heights of chair, best materials to use for each function, most comfortable, best position of armrests…
It is the same with uniforms, and it comes up so often that we heave a big sigh each time. For example, earlier this year, Virgin trains staff were worried about their new designer uniforms being too skimpy and too see-through.
Japanese airline All Nippon and American Airlines are amongst those who announced this year that they have gone down the designer route, and these will be revealed next year. We’ll wait and see…
Above all though, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. In short, include your staff in the development process for the uniforms. They will be the ones wearing it.
They are, after all the best people to promote your company on a day-to-day basis. A stylish, happy , comfortable member of staff is going to let everyone know about it. It’s the best PR of all.
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