From a 1930s safari-style pilots’ outfit to sleek navy suits: Fascinating photos show how British Airways uniforms have changed throughout the decades
- The airline’s uniforms for both flight crew and cabin crew have seen massive changes over the past 100 years
- Designers including Julien Macdonald, Baccarat Weatherall and Paul Costelloe have all created past outfits
- Savile Row tailor Ozwald Boateng has been commissioned to design brand new BA uniforms for 32,000 staff
These fascinating photos show how British Airways uniforms for pilots and cabin crew have changed over the decades.
They include the very latest look, which won’t be around for too much longer because Savile Row tailor Ozwald Boateng has just been commissioned to design the national flag carrier’s new uniform. It will be revealed next year to coincide with BA’s centenary.
The images here show how the BA look has changed from a safari-style pilot’s uniform that was worn in the 1930s to the sleek skirts, jackets and hats worn by cabin crew today.
The British Airways uniforms from across the decades. Pictured from left: (1) Julien Macdonald 2003 – flight crew; (2) Julien Macdonald 2003 – cabin crew; (3) Paul Costelloe 1993 – cabin crew; (4) Roland Klein 1985 – cabin crew; (5) Roland Klein 1985 – cabin crew; (6) Roland Klein 1985 summer dress version 1 – cabin crew; (7) Roland Klein 1985 summer dress verson 2 – cabin crew; (8) Baccarat Weatherall 1977 – cabin crew; (9) BEA Hardy Amies 1972 – cabin crew; (10) BOAC Clive Evans 1970 – cabin crew; (11) BOAC Clive Evans 1970 – cabin crew; (12) BEA Hardy Amies cabin crew 1967 – cabin crew; (13) Paper dress 1967 BOAC for cabin crew flying from New York to the Caribbean; (14) BEA John Cavangh 1960 – cabin crew; (15) BEA 1954 to 1960 – cabin crew; (16) BOAC Maurice Helman 1946 – cabin crew and (17) an Imperial Airways pilot uniform from the 1930s. BEA and BOAC merged in 1974 to create British Airways. Imperial Airways merged into BOAC in 1939
The carrier had three predecessors – Imperial Airways (1924 to 1939), British Overseas Air Corporation (BOAC – 1940 to 1974) and British European Airways (BEA – 1946 to 1974), which over time all merged into becoming BA.
Imperial pilots wore a khaki-coloured jacket with matching shorts and long socks pulled up to the knees.
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As air travel grew in the 1950s and 60s, cabin crew uniforms changed drastically with the BOAC and BEA uniforms consisting of a smart skirt with a fitted jacket and small hat.
In the late 60s, the outfits experimented with colour and in 1967, BOAC introduced a floral paper dress that flight attendants wore when flying to and from the Caribbean.
Two of the flight crew uniforms from across the ages. Pictured left is the current BA pilot uniform while right is the uniform worn by pilots of Imperial Airways in the 1930s
And in the 1970s, BOAC crew wore bright blue and pink short shift dresses.
British Airways launched in 1974 and its first new uniform took to the skies in 1977, designed by the Baccarat Weatherall Fashion House. The cabin crew uniform consisted of a dark-blue pinstripe suit along with a small brimmed hat.
The next re-design came in 1985 when French designer Roland Klein was picked to revamp the outfits, which included red, white and blue striped dresses.
In 1993, Irish-American designer Paul Costelloe created cabin crew uniforms – again which included long patterned dresses and navy blue jackets.
And then 10 years later Julien Macdonald, best known for creating evening wear for the likes of Kylie Minogue, designed the current BA uniforms.
Savile Row tailor Ozwald Boateng, who has also been the creative director at Givenchy Homme. He has been commissioned to design the new BA uniforms
His designs have been described as sharp navy-blue retro style suits which, according to BA, hark back to the pioneering days of aviation.
Mr Boateng is known for bringing a modern contemporary twist to the classic British institution of tailoring – so the fashion world will no doubt be very excited to see what he comes up with for the airline’s 32,000 employees.
He started his career in fashion in 1986 and became the first tailor to host a catwalk show at Paris Fashion Week. As well as being the youngest tailor to open a store in Savile Row, Mr Boateng was the creative director at Givenchy Homme from 2002 to 2006.
The tailor will be working closely with the airline’s employees throughout the development process, from shadowing them to understand their roles and how the uniforms need to perform, to design, testing and final delivery.
He said: ‘I am really excited about creating this new uniform for British Airways. It is important for me to create something that makes all of British Airways’ 32,000 uniform-wearing employees across the world excited, at the same time as enabling me to really demonstrate my skills as a designer.
‘British Airways is investing £4.5 billion over the next five years and the uniform I design will form part of that, so I’m looking forward to taking a uniform and refining it into a collection.’
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