Delta Air Lines revealed Tuesday new uniforms for its flight attendants and ticket agents, updating the wardrobe for 60,000 employees for the first time in 10 years.
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Designer Zac Posen, of "Project Runway" fame, styled the new uniforms, which stray from the company's traditional navy blue and red motif. While the colors — plum, graphite and cardinal — are more intrepid, the cuts remain classically fitted and modest.
Delta also announced that Lands' End, the catalog and online apparel retailer based in Dodgeville, Wis., will make the uniforms.
The uniforms were a leap for Posen, known for his women's formal and dress wear, who consulted with employees on each piece. The collection, called "Fly Me to the Moon," plays off the nostalgia and luxury of midcentury air travel while remaining firmly planted in the airline industry's conservative dress style.
"We wanted Delta employees to look glamorous on the job without sacrificing functionality and style," Posen said in a statement.
The collection includes dozens of pieces for varying weather and work conditions that customer-service agents, flight attendants, baggage handlers and ground crew will select from.
The women's blazers have a hem that flares out in the back, giving them a cape-like effect that Posen told the New York Times was inspired by the shape of airplanes.
"For a collection that will be worn by Delta people for years to come, it has to be right. It has to be timeless and embody the uniqueness and resilience of our brand," said Elaine Casanova, a Minneapolis-based flight attendant, in a statement.
The designer consulted with both Lands' End and an employee-run committee throughout the process.
"It was clear early on that Zac embodied the innovative design sense, passion and hands-on involvement to create for our employees and our brand a uniform that truly sets Delta apart," Ed Bastian, Delta's chief executive, said in a statement.
Lands' End will make prototypes for 1,000 Delta employees to test from December through March. The uniforms will be fully rolled out in early 2018.
Delta last updated its in-flight and customer service agent uniforms in 2006. Its "below-wing" employees — those who work on the ground or in baggage handling — have been wearing the same clothing design since 2000.
Delta dominates Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport with about 70 percent of the market share. The airline employs nearly 8,000 people in the Twin Cities metro.
Kristen Leigh Painter • 612-673-4767
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