It’s November 10, 1995, on a grey and miserable day at London Luton Airport. On the apron is a Boeing 737-200 belonging to GB Airways. Painted on the side of the fuselage in orange numbers is 01582 44 55 66, while the tail bears the name of a brand-new UK low-cost airline, easyJet.
Meanwhile, in the terminal, the airline’s first cabin crew members pass by the smartly dressed Britannia and Monarch crews, wearing their bright orange coats and polo shirts that read ‘I’m an EASYjet crew member.’ Black jeans, reportedly purchased at Tesco, complete the look. That first uniform was certainly in keeping with the airline’s laid-back style.
As the airline grew, new looks were introduced; who could forget the shiny orange shirts or the orange gilets rolled out in May 2002? But despite the slight smartening from jeans and a polo shirt, the casual nature of the uniform, and, of course, easyJet’s Pantone 021C orange, always remained.
Formal and Fabulous
All that was about to change in 2007, when the airline launched an in-house competition to design a new uniform that would be smarter and allow the crew to feel more comfortable and confident at work.
The winning design was called ‘Formal and Fabulous,’ created by Liverpool-based crew member Ann Marie Cuffe and Gatwick crew members Joanne Todd and Kurt Wilson. With a much smarter, more formal look, the design consisted of several different pieces, such as orange or white shirts, jackets, or waistcoats, allowing the crew to create their own combinations to express their individual style and personality.
In 2013, easyJet’s uniform was updated once again when Welsh fashion designer Jeff Banks CBE and clothing manufacturer Incorporatewear, who had been supplying the airline’s uniform since 2010, were brought in to create a new look. Banks, renowned for his affordable and high-quality fashion, was deemed the perfect first fashion house to create a look for the low-cost carrier.
Banks was commissioned to create a uniform that reflected the easyJet orange brand with a contemporary twist on classic styles, delivering a collection of sharp tailoring to suit all shapes, sizes, and ages. This saw the creation of six new pieces for 4,000 staff, including two dresses complemented by a new, longer scarf, a leather belt, and a leather handbag for ladies, as well as a waistcoat and tie for men.
Over 100 crew members participated in wearer trials, evaluating the new pieces on various factors, including design style, comfort, wash-and-wear performance, easyJet branding, and customer reaction.
Speaking at the time, Banks said: “Incorporatewear and I are absolutely delighted to have had the opportunity to work on developing easyJet’s new uniform. It looks absolutely fantastic and is a credit to the easyJet brand and reflects the importance the company gives to the appearance, well-being and comfort of its cabin crew.”
Little changed with the uniform over the next few years, although additional items were added to the look, including new ties and scarves, also designed by easyJet cabin crew.
Looking To The Future
In 2015, to celebrate the airline’s 20th anniversary, easyJet unveiled a futuristic new look that featured embedded wearable technology devices, created in collaboration with fashion tech company CuteCircuit.
This included LEDs on the shoulders and illuminated hems to provide additional lighting in an emergency, LEDs on the jacket lapels displaying information such as flight numbers and destinations, and in-built microphones to enhance communication between the crew, pilot, and passengers. Ground staff uniforms will also feature LEDs in the jacket cuffs to help with aircraft movement on the ground.
Despite plans to trial the look in early 2016, the new uniforms never took off and were quietly scrapped.
In August 2021, the airline introduced a revised outfit for its flight and cabin crews, made from recycled plastic bottles. Each uniform would be created from 45 plastic bottles, which the airline said would prevent around 2,700,000 plastic bottles from ending up in landfill or the ocean. This led to the Luton-based carrier winning the ‘Sustainability Award’ at the 2021 Professional Clothing Industry Association Worldwide Awards.
Birthday Outfit
Who doesn’t love a new outfit for their birthday and for their 30th, easyJet rolled out its brand-new cabin crew uniform, created by an in-house design team and Tailored Image, which has also manufactured the previous uniform pieces since 2020.
The new wardrobe for its cabin and flight crew members has been two years in the making, with the pair working closely together since March 2023 to create a uniform that would be ‘stylish, elegant, timeless and give a nod to the easyJet orange.’
Once the designs had been created, feedback was gathered from various brands and customer ambassadors who trialled the new look for over 12 weeks. However, the uniform wasn’t without its critics. Complaints were made by many crew members regarding the materials used and their ill-fitting nature, which resulted in the shirts frequently coming untucked when they bent or stretched.
The airline’s bosses, including Natalie Puncher, easyJet’s Customer and Standards Manager and the lead on the project, took the feedback on board and made changes to “ensure the uniform was robust, comfortable and fit for purpose.” easyJet added that “investment into the quality of the uniform” had been a “key focus in the process.”
The Uniform
The entire uniform has been redesigned, although sadly, it’s not a massive departure from easyJet’s previous look. Crew members have the option to choose between trousers, a skirt or a dress, and white shirts or blouses can be worn with a waistcoat and jacket.
Ties, scarves, and pocket squares feature a new orange and grey pattern, and a cravat has also been added to the range. Warmth layers include a light grey coat, along with jumpers and cardigans, also in a paler grey than the previous look, but retaining the orange trim.
On the day of the launch, Puncher said, “It gives me great pride to be launching our new pilot and crew uniform, as we mark our 30th year. It’s been a joy to work with Tailored Image and to utilise their expertise for this important launch, and we look forward to our continued work with them as we take off into our fourth decade as a commercial airline.”
Continuing with the airline’s sustainability efforts, easyJet also announced that it intends to recycle or donate 100% of the retired items from the previous uniform, with many usable pieces to be donated to charities in the regions the airline operates.
The first phase involves a partnership with Luton-based charity Level Trust, which will upcycle old uniform pieces for students at 75 schools across the town. It then plans to add schools near Gatwick Airport, before rolling the incentive out across the rest of the country in due course.
Which easyJet look from the past 30 years is your favourite, and what do you think of the new uniform? Let us know in the comments below!
[All images via easyJet, Tailored Image, Incorporatewear or my lovely followers. The author does not own the rights to any of the photos featured. Please contact for further information or if you wish for your image to be removed]
© Confessions of a Trolley Dolly by Dan Air
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