Today saw Aer Lingus reveal its new look uniform which will be graced by its 4,000 cabin and ground crew around the world from 10th February. Created by the same Irish fashion designer who brought its previous threads to life – Louise Kennedy – the new look reflects Aer Lingus’ recent brand refresh.
The airline hasn’t departed too far from its previous incarnation. Guests flying with Aer Lingus in the coming months can expect to still see iconic green, now dubbed ‘Kenmare Green’, as well as a greater inclusion of navy, entitled ‘Midnight’, throughout. In all, 25 garments have been designed giving crew and ground staff a greater variety of styles from which to choose.
Diversifying its range, changes to the uniform include the addition of trouser and dress options, new jacket and coat designs for male crew, and easy-care shirts and blouses for the convenience of all crew. “For added comfort, garment materials have a level of stretch and are designed to fit and flatter all body shapes and sizes,” states the press release.
While the new look uniform is the culmination of a two-year project between Aer Lingus and Louise Kennedy, involving extensive staff engagement as well as external research in Dublin, London, New York and Paris we can’t help but feel a little flat about the execution. The silhouette sadly isn’t that contemporary, and the Kenmare Green female jacket is quite boxy, but the attention to detail on elements like the cuff motif is certainly worth celebrating.
Speaking at the announcement, Aer Lingus CEO, Sean Doyle said: “Our guests’ main engagement with our brand is with our 4,000-strong workforce of ground staff and cabin crew, therefore our uniform is an embodiment of who we are as an airline. The adoption of a capsule collection reflects the trends found in North America, the strongest target demographic for the carrier.
“As with our logo and livery, our new uniform needs to reflect the modern, international airline that Aer Lingus is today; while also ensuring that our unique identity is retained and our values as an airline are reflected. Louise Kennedy has achieved that in the uniform that we are unveiling today, and it is the final step in a process that has seen over 500 points rebranded over the last 12 months.”
Irish fashion designer Louise Kennedy said: “We were honoured to be chosen to design the new Aer Lingus uniform. The brief from the airline was very clear and we were confident we could deliver a modern and stylish capsule collection which would endure for several years.”
Louise Kennedy’s latest design for Aer Lingus is the airline’s eleventh uniform, with previous designers including leading Irish fashion names such as Irene Gilbert, Neillí Mulcahy, Digby Morton, Ib Jorgensen and Paul Costello. Aer Lingus’ first-ever uniform was a military-style rich brown suit designed by Sybil Connolly in 1945, which then became green a few years later in 1948.
The uniform is certainly on brand, but doesn’t seem to offer more than a professional, colour-blocked, on-brand capsule collection. We can’t help but feel there was a missed opportunity to push the brand further. What do you think?
The Big Picture
NO REPRO FEE 15/01/2019 Aer Lingus New Look Uniform. Designer Louise Kennedy pictured with Aer Lingus cabin crew (left to right)Byron Kumbula, Senior Cabin Crew; Eszter Dornfeld, Cabin Crew; Oisin Leong, Guest Experience Instructor; Aoife Costello, Cabin Service Manager; Vicoria Elmore, Senior Cabin Crew; David Rodgers, Senior Cabin Crew, at the unveiling of the new look Aer Lingus uniform. The new design reflects Aer Lingus’ status as a modern international airline with a proud Irish heritage and is the final stage in the airline’s brand refresh which commenced in early 2019. Guests flying with Aer Lingus in the coming months can expect to still see the iconic green, now dubbed ‘Kenmare Green’, as well as a greater inclusion of navy colour ‘Midnight’ throughout. Photograph: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland
NO REPRO FEE 15/01/2019 Aer Lingus New Look Uniform. Pictured are Aer Lingus Cabin Crew members (l to r) Byron Kumbula, Senior Cabin Crew; Eszter Dornfeld, Cabin Crew; David Rodgers, Senior Cabin Crew; Vicoria Elmore, Senior Cabin Crew; Aoife Costello, Cabin Service Manager, and Oisin Leong, Guest Experience Instructor pictured at the unveiling of Aer Lingus’ new look uniform designed by Louise Kennedy. The new design will be worn by over 4,000 cabin and ground crew around the world from February 10th. Notable changes to the uniform include the addition of trouser and dress options for female crew, new jacket and coat designs for male crew, and easy-care shirts and blouses for the convenience of all crew. Photograph: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland
NO REPRO FEE 15/01/2019 Aer Lingus New Look Uniform. Pictured are Aer Lingus Cabin Crew members (l to r) Oisin Leong, Guest Experience Instructor; Aoife Costello, Cabin Service Manager; Eszter Dornfeld, Cabin Crew; Vicoria Elmore, Senior Cabin Crew; David Rodgers, Senior Cabin Crew and Byron Kumbula, Senior Cabin Crew pictured at the unveiling of Aer Lingus’ new look uniform designed by Louise Kennedy. The new design will be worn by over 4,000 cabin and ground crew around the world from February 10th. Notable changes to the uniform include the addition of trouser and dress options for female crew, new jacket and coat designs for male crew, and easy-care shirts and blouses for the convenience of all crew. Photograph: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland
NO REPRO FEE 15/01/2019 Aer Lingus New Look Uniform. Pictured are Aer Lingus Cabin Crew members (l to r) Oisin Leong, Guest Experience Instructor; Aoife Costello, Cabin Service Manager; Byron Kumbula, Senior Cabin Crew; Vicoria Elmore, Senior Cabin Crew; David Rodgers, Senior Cabin Crew and Eszter Dornfeld, Cabin Crew, pictured at the unveiling of Aer Lingus’ new look uniform designed by Louise Kennedy. The new design will be worn by over 4,000 cabin and ground crew around the world from February 10th. Notable changes to the uniform include the addition of trouser and dress options for female crew, new jacket and coat designs for male crew, and easy-care shirts and blouses for the convenience of all crew. Photograph: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland
NO REPRO FEE 15/01/2019 Aer Lingus New Look Uniform. Pictured are Aer Lingus Cabin Crew members (l to r) Eszter Dornfeld, Aoife Costello and Victoria Elmore pictured at the unveiling of Aer Lingus’ new look uniform designed by Louise Kennedy. The new design will be worn by over 4,000 cabin and ground crew around the world from February 10th. Notable changes to the uniform include the addition of trouser and dress options for female crew, new jacket and coat designs for male crew, and easy-care shirts and blouses for the convenience of all crew. Photograph: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland
NO REPRO FEE 15/01/2019 Aer Lingus New Look Uniform. Pictured are Aer Lingus Cabin Crew members (l to r) Oisin Leong, Guest Experience Instructor; Aoife Costello, Cabin Service Manager; Byron Kumbula, Senior Cabin Crew; Eszter Dornfeld, Cabin Crew David Rodgers, Senior Cabin Crew and Vicoria Elmore, Senior Cabin Crew, pictured at the unveiling of Aer Lingus’ new look uniform designed by Louise Kennedy. The new design will be worn by over 4,000 cabin and ground crew around the world from February 10th. Notable changes to the uniform include the addition of trouser and dress options for female crew, new jacket and coat designs for male crew, and easy-care shirts and blouses for the convenience of all crew. Photograph: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland
NO REPRO FEE 15/01/2019 Aer Lingus New Look Uniform. Designer Louise Kennedy pictured with Aer Lingus cabin crew (left to right) David Rodgers, Byron Kumbula and Oisin Leong at the unveiling of the new look Aer Lingus uniform. The new design reflects Aer Lingus’ status as a modern international airline with a proud Irish heritage and is the final stage in the airline’s brand refresh which commenced in early 2019. Guests flying with Aer Lingus in the coming months can expect to still see the iconic green, now dubbed ‘Kenmare Green’, as well as a greater inclusion of navy colour ‘Midnight’ throughout. Photograph: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland
NO REPRO FEE 15/01/2019 Aer Lingus New Look Uniform. Designer Louise Kennedy pictured with Aer Lingus cabin crew (left to right) David Rodgers, Byron Kumbula and Oisin Leong at the unveiling of the new look Aer Lingus uniform. The new design reflects Aer Lingus’ status as a modern international airline with a proud Irish heritage and is the final stage in the airline’s brand refresh which commenced in early 2019. Guests flying with Aer Lingus in the coming months can expect to still see the iconic green, now dubbed ‘Kenmare Green’, as well as a greater inclusion of navy colour ‘Midnight’ throughout. Photograph: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland
TheDesignAir 
Oh dear
Another airline uniform that says n-o-t-h-i-n-g. Not even “airline”. The above ensembles look as though they were created for employees of a hotel or restaurant chain: particularly with those generic name tags. (Do the flight attendants not even wear wings?) The whole look is just so bland. But the new Aer Lingus livery is bland as well, so I guess that’s what current management wants.