Air India might soon be doing away with the Sari option for their flight attendants, as they have announced their new partnership for designing the latest iteration of the uniform for Air India’s frontline staff.

Air India partners with Manish Malhotra for the next iteration of the Air India staff uniform.

For over six decades now, Air India’s flight attendants have worn the Sari on their long-haul missions. However, it seems like just the Maharajah has been relegated to the tableware; it might be that the sari may be on its way out as well.

The new uniforms are expected to have the same colour palate as the livery, which will show up later this year: Gold Trims, Burgundy and Aubergine.

Air India has announced its partnership with fashion designer Manish Malhotra to design new uniforms for over 10,000 Air India employees on the frontline, including cabin crew, cockpit crew, and ground and security staff. This is another step in the direction of Air India’s new global brand identity. Air India expects to commence rolling out the new look for its uniformed employees by the end of 2023.

On this selection, Air India’s CMD, Campbell Wilson, said,

Air India is delighted to be collaborating with Manish Malhotra to realise our shared ambition of representing the very best of a vibrant, bold, and progressive India on the world stage. We are working closely with Manish and his team to combine elements of our brand, our heritage and our culture, together with the unique requirements of the airline environment, for what we hope will be a fresh and exciting new look that supports and represents the new Air India.

Malhotra and his team have been meeting Air India’s frontline staff, conducting discussions and fitting sessions to understand their specialised needs better. As per sources, the process has been ongoing since the first half of 2023 itself. Ritu Beri designed some of the earlier iterations of Air India’s staff uniform.

With respect to the Sari, while a formal decision has not been taken to have it go away, it may still be an option retained eventually. Still, Air India seems eager to move in a more modern comfort direction for now, as per reporting by the Hindustan Times. What I would love to go away, though, would be the security staff uniform, which resembles an Indian cop’s uniform to a large extent. As per the HT, once the Vistara merger is completed, the uniform for Vistara staff will be the same as for Air India staff.

Bottomline

Air India has signed Manish Malhotra to design and implement the next iteration of the uniform for frontline staff, including their cabin crew, pilots and ground staff. The airline expects to roll out the uniforms by the end of 2023. It is being reported that the new design might have the Sari go away as an option for the staff, but we need to wait until the actual reveal happens to find out.

What are your thoughts on what the new staff uniforms for Air India should look like?

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