British Airways is making female uniform blouses at least 43% thicker because the original design was so sheer that it was partially see-through, leading to widespread complaints from staffers and an intervention from a flight attendant union after employees were told what underwear to wear.
The flimsy blouses were so sheer that shortly after issuing crew members with the controversial Ozwald Boateng-designed uniforms last year, the airline then sent out detailed guidance on what kind of underwear that flight attendants should wear.
In now-retracted guidance, British Airways told crew members to wear white bras and t-shirts and to avoid wearing lacy or patterned bras because the design might be visible through the silky blouse.
The guidance was quietly ditched after the official cabin crew uniform issued a formal complaint, telling its members that it “beggars belief” that it was forced to raise concerns over the guidance in the first place.
Earlier this year, British Airways was forced to seek feedback from disgruntled workers over the new uniform and after pouring through the results, the Heathrow-based carrier admitted that the new look garments weren’t “quite hitting the mark”.
The airline has now told female employees that it is exploring two new fabric options for the blouse, which will be at least 43% thicker than the original fabric. British Airways is also redesigning the collar of the ivory-colored blouse because it was prone to becoming stained in makeup.
Having listened to female staff feedback that parts of the uniform made them look masculine, British Airways also says that it is redesigning a cardigan to five it a more feminine fit.
The announced changes aren’t, however, expected to be rolled out for some time with prototypes still two months away and then lengthy wearer trials before mass manufacturing can begin.
British Airways first started working on its new uniform before the pandemic but global lockdowns led to the airline to quickly suspend work on the project in order to conserve cash.
The uniform, designed by Savile Row tailor Ozwald Boateng, was revealed in 2023 and then rolled out last October, and it features the world’s first airline jumpsuit for female employees.
Workers have, however, complained about the durability and comfort of certain items, although British Airways insists that many items in the collection are “performing well and proving popular”.
Earlier this week, Delta Air Lines told flight attendant hopefuls who had been invited to face-to-face interviews with the Atlanta-based carrier that they should wear underwear to their assessment day.
The airline was forced to remind interviewees that they must wear “proper undergarments” that aren’t visible in their interview.
Along with telling candidates to wear underwear, Delta also took the time to remind applicants that they must maintain their personal cleanliness and hygiene and that fingernails must be clean, neat, and trimmed. Interview clothing must be “professional and fit properly,” and skirts mustn’t be too short.
Well this is unfortunate…
I guess I’ll have to fly Lufthansa!
They should scrap the WHOLE Boateng uniform completely and restore the Julien MacDonald uniform! There was no need to change the uniform in the first place, as that JM was a beautiful and stylish uniform. The new one is nowhere near as nice.
And if they are tweaking the Boateng uniform, I suggest they remove that dreadful red arrow from the front of the skirt, as it looks really odd.
My way of doing it when commissioning any new design would be to have a representative group of existing staff in on the design.
Then make up a batch of, say, 30 outfits. They would go to the staffers who were involved in the design process and the balance to other staffers who were not involved.
They then all wear the outfits on duty, assessing comfort, suitability, etc.
Then those opinions/results are used to tweak the design, after which they are assessed again. Any final changes made, and then rolled out across the board
I know it’s a bit of a bother but getting input from those who have to do the job is always best. Particularly when a good few thousand outfits will be required.
Rather bottom-up input than top-down imposition.
Some good points made there, Rodb. Like most people, I was very disappointed when BA scrapped that beautifully smart Julien MacDonald uniform for such a drab, dull, low-quality new look. The Boateng uniform should NEVER have seen the light of day! I cannot believe ANYBODY in BA’s management team actually signed this awful new uniform off. Regarding the “changes” they are making, they also need to get rid of that awful red arrow on the skirt front, as it looks really odd and strange.
Regarding did they REALLY consult ALL the staff before they ventured to inflict this awful new uniform on their crew, well, from what I have heard from some BA crew, they did not, which I think is a very bad policy. When you start fiddling around with a popular uniform you have had for 20 years, you run the risk of annoying your crew if they do not want their uniform changed. Again, I must say that BA should scrap the Boateng uniform, and bring back the Julien Mac. The Boateng uniform has never caught on, and I believe it never will.