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<p> 320 chapter fourteen George Gross and Harry ‘Who’ 1994-2003 321 A ll Australian The next decision to introduce a new uniform was made in April 1993 as an explicit corporate strategy. The opportunity was long gone when the uniform might in some ways represent what the flight attendant meant, and here it is worth recalling the winged collar feature of the ‘Aqua’ uniform, or the fashionable ‘Coral’ mini dress. Instead the ‘look’ of the uniform had become part of the increasingly globalised and corporatised world of flying. Even the kangaroo, so much a part of Qantas history and the identifying Australian element on the Yves Saint Laurent uniform, would go as Qantas moved towards a solely, generic corporate look. The changes came about as the Qantas Board resolved at this time to merge Qantas with its newly acquired domestic arm, Australian A irlines (formerly TAA). This was not the only major change in the Australian aviation industry in the early 1990s and is a decision which has a history that is relevant here. In 1988, Senator Gareth Evans, Transport Minister for the Keating Labor Government, had prepared a paper outing a policy to privatise Qantas.1 Over the next few years the impact of the Gulf War, which had begun late in 1990, saw the quadrupling of fuel prices and thus profits of the Australian and world airline industry plummet.2 In 1991, the Federal Government announced the decision to sell 49 percent of Qantas. At the same time they announced that 100 percent of Australian A irlines (the Commonwealth domestic air carrier) could be sold. In 1992 it was Qantas that purchased Australian A irlines for $400 million, and in December of that same year the Federal Government accepted a $665 million bid for the sale of a 25 percent share of Qantas to British A irways. 3 This sale was seen as the first step towards the planned privatisation of Qantas. Lord King, the British A irways Chairman, said at the time the sale was announced that ‘his airline did not want to take over Qantas or run it.’4 Lord King already had a record in successful privatisation, having 1 Stackhouse, 1995: 177 & BA link takes Qantas into ‘formidable’ world alliance’ in Special Edition Qantas News, Vol 40 No 13 December 22 1992: 1 2 Late in 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait–Gulf war and fuel prices quadrupled. The airl ine industry lost US$15.6 billion dollars between 1990 and 1993 in Stackhouse, 1995:184 3 In 1986 TAA was renamed Australian A irlines–new livery–the kangaroo on the fin and Australian written on the fuselage 4 BA link takes Qantas into ‘Formidable’world alliance’ in Special Edition Qantas News, Vol 40 No 13 December 22 1992: 1 322 revamped British A irways from an airline that was running at a loss of one billion dollars a year when he became Chairman in 1981 to oversee its complete privatisation by February 1987. By the end of the 1987 fiscal year, British A irways profits were amongst the industry’s highest. The plan generated public concern that Qantas should remain ‘Australian’, testifying to the effectiveness of the airline’s long campaign to establish itself as an image of Australian-ness as much as to wider social concerns about privatisation of a range of government assets at this time. The Qantas Sale Bill 1992 was designed to specifically legislate this Australian-ness and embody specific national interests. For example, limits were placed on the British A irways influence as part of the trade sale agreement, restricting them to three seats on the newly appointed twelve-person Qantas Board and specifying that at least two-thirds of the Board of Directors should be Australian citizens. Other inclusions in the sale Bill were that Qantas’ main operational base and headquarters would remain in Australia and the name ‘Qantas’ would be preserved for the company’s scheduled international passenger services. With reference to the privatisation of British A irways by the British Thatcher government in 1987, the Australian government legislated that foreign ownership and the sale of Qantas would not total more than 35 percent, with a limit of 25 percent on any single foreign owner. Minister for Finance, Ralph Willis assured the public that ‘Australian control of Qantas and its identity as our national flag carrier will not be jeopardised.’5 In April 1993, the headline to a special edition of Qantas News was ‘Take off! A new Qantas is born’. The article announced that ‘the best of both Qantas and Australian A irlines is to be brought together to produce one airline under a single brand’. John Ward, the Managing Director of Qantas, described the importance of its brand. Brands are all about reputations. Reputations are built by making tangible a whole host of intangibles…We must harness those intangibles that were the best of both airlines…Qantas’ reputation was probably stronger on the tangibles of product 5 BA link takes Qantas into ‘Formidable’world alliance’ in ‘Special Edition’ Qantas News, Vol 40 No 13 December 22 1992: 1 323 delivery while Australian’s seem to have been stronger on the tangibles of service delivery.6 Qantas decided, after market research conducted in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, New Zealand and Australia to adopt the Qantas logo and colour scheme for its whole Group operations. This was to be the biggest marketing exercise for Qantas since the Boeing 747 was introduced in 1971.7 The new branding was to take effect from the start of the Northern winter schedules on October 31 1993.8 Australian A irlines and Qantas were merged under the banner ‘Qantas: The Australian A irline’. This replaced the preceding logo, ‘Qantas: The Spirit of Australia’, although the latter was never to disappear entirely, being maintained and resurrected through various subsequent marketing campaigns. After the changes discussed in the previous chapter, Qantas was already working with a strong corporate image and independent research had revealed that for the three years from 1990 to 1993 it had the strongest corporate image in Australia.9 In April, the Qantas Board decided that six elements of the ‘single brand’ Qantas would be addressed. The elements included changes to aircraft livery, with new First Class and Business Class cabin interiors and signage and corporate identification on the aircraft standardised, including a single flight destinator (TN flights become QF flights). Reservation systems were also unified, which included a new Customer contact uniform for all cabin crew and customer contact ground staff. Part of the research anticipating the merger of the two airlines, conducted by Frank Small and Associates, was to ‘develop a full understanding of the psychological disposition of Australian A irlines staff to Australian being rebranded as Qantas and to wearing the Qantas uniform.’10 The first signs of the single brand became evident in May, 6 ‘Managing Director John Ward’ in Qantas News ‘special edition’ Vol 41 No 5 April 28 1993: 1 7 Qantas Annual Report 1993-1994:10-11 8 ‘Managing Director John Ward’ Qantas News ‘special edition’ Vol 41 No 5 April 28 1993: 1 9 ‘Managing Director John Ward’ Qantas News ‘special edition’ Vol 41 No 5 April 28 1993: 1 10 An Enormous Opportunity, Says Survey’ in Qantas News ‘special edition’ Vol 41 no 5 April 28 1993: 2 324 ‘with the emergence from the Melbourne base paint shop of a B737-300 in the new Qantas livery with a white kangaroo on the red tail.’11 Thus in May 1993, the process for designing a new uniform began despite the very recent modifications to the Yves Saint Laurent uniform with which I closed the previous chapter.12 Most likely in response to the bad feelings that had resulted with the tender of the Yves Saint Laurent uniform, one of the first decisions about the new uniform was Chairman Gary Pemberton's declaration that the uniforms would be both designed and produced in Australia.13 Eight designers were short listed from a list of twenty leading Australian designers who had been specifically invited to compete for the project. It was decided that a new uniform would start appearing in the second half of 1994 and that it should be ‘one of the most visible changes to come out of the Single Brand decision.’14 In another clear shift from the Yves Saint Laurent selection process there was a twelve member Uniform Working Committee, which was comprised entirely of staff, including representatives from the 10,000 Qantas Group front line customer contact staff. A group of twelve staff representing frontline customer contact areas was drawn equally from international and domestic operations. The Committee Chairperson was Biruta Hammill, Manager of Uniform and Standards. The 9,000 staff were asked to fill out a questionnaire on the type of uniform they thought would be appropriate, including their preferences in fabric, colour and style.15 In a departure from the Yves Saint Laurent selection process, the committee choosing the designers was entirely staff-based and the results of the survey were used to create the guidelines for designers. The results of this survey were used as guidelines for the designers in a sharp departure from the idea of a signature star designer. The timeline for the entire selection process was tightly scheduled, again in a contrast to the previous process which could not be coincidental. The results of the 11 ‘Take Off! A New Qantas is Born’ in Qantas News ‘special edition’ Vol 41 No 5 April 28 1993: 1 12 Biruta Hammill, manager of Uniforms and Standards said the YSL uniform would have been kept longer if not for the merger of Australian A irlines and Qantas in Selina Day, ‘Qantas Staff take to the Skies in Cosmic Blue’ in AAP News, 18 August 1994 13 New uniform w ill send single image to customer’ in Qantas News ‘special edition’ Vol 41 no 5 April 28 1993: 2 14 ‘ Staff Input in Uniform Design’ Qantas News: The Newspaper for People in the Qantas Group, Vol 41 no 6 May 12, 1993: 5 15 Tom Ballantyne, ‘Flying Kangaroo set for a facelift’ in The Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday 18 August 1994: 3 325 questionnaire would be collated and reviewed by the committee on the 18th May; the brief for the designers completed by May 25th; the brief to be distributed to the eight Australian designers May 31st; designers to provide the committee with sketches and storyboards of the new uniform by August 2nd; a final three designers would be announced August 4th; the three finalists were to submit a full range of working sample garments by October 1st; the committee were to recommend a winning design to the Managing Director’s Steering Group; and on October 7th the winning design would be announced.16 Qantas’ ‘biggest face lift in years’ was part of a $17 million program designed to: revive the airline’s global image and regain the lead in the domestic market as it prepares for the next year’s $2 billion public float. It is also aimed at raising its profile and repairing staff morale, which has been affected by a merger, management changes and staff cuts.17 This revamp for Qantas was thus very similar to the experience of British A irways in the process of privatisation. In the 1980s, British A irways was popularly satirised as ‘BA’ for ‘Bloody Awful” and Lord King had implemented a radical restructuring of the airline with staff cuts, improved service procedures, fine tuning of the routes, marketing agreements with foreign airlines and a new slogan, from Saatchi and Saatchi advertising agency, ‘British A irways: The World’s Favourite A irline.’ In January 1993, a new British A irways uniform by Dublin born designer Paul Costello was launched (to ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra’ the title music of 2001: A Space Odyessy). This uniform cost 14 million pounds–the following uniform by Julian McDonald in 2004 would cost 30 percent less18–and although it was BA’s fiftieth uniform in sixty years the design process had taken twelve months. The uniform for the staff of 20,000 was described as a 16 ‘ Staff Input in uniform design’ Qantas News: The Newspaper for People in the Qantas Group, Vol 41 No 6 May 12, 1993: 5 17 Ballantyne, 1994: 3 18 ‘Julian McDonald Uniform’ in British Airways News, April 8 2004 326 A classic tailored single-breasted suit in the corporate colours of red and navy blue, designed in a specially created pin-dot wool fabric. A silky crepe geometric print blouse in red, navy, white and grey complements the suit and in summer and tropical climates the suit skirt is replaced by a longer length pleated skirt which matches the blouse.19 Sir Colin Marshall, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive of British A irways, described the uniform as reflecting ‘the corporate values of British A irways’, noting that ‘over the past decade, our uniform has become recognised as a symbol of high quality service.’20 Robert Ayling, Director of Marketing and Operations further added that ‘Classic quality is what this uniform and British A irways are all about.’21 Costello understood his uniform ‘of great classic British tailoring’ to require a strict code of grooming: ‘Staff want to be noticed because they look good. This uniform worn properly and with a strict sense of grooming, will do that.’22 Hair length in particular would be important, because of the upturned boater hat.23 As with the pre-privatisation Qantas uniform, the staff played a ‘vital role in the entire design process’, from answering a survey to talking directly to the designer and modelling samples. Costello met more than six hundred staff in relation to the new design and said he and the staff ‘guided this uniform together: ‘I was at the helm, but I listened to staff–perhaps more than others.’24 The revamp of Qantas, like British A irways, included a public campaign advertising the ‘new’ Qantas at home and overseas. The campaign included television advertising and a A$1 million redesign and redecoration of domestic airport executive lounges–the airline's Flight Deck clubs–in all capital cities. This component of the renovation aimed to increase the airline’s ability to win a larger share of the lucrative business travel market. A ircraft interiors, both domestic and international, were refurbished and the international lounges, the Qantas Captain’s Clubs, were changed to indicate the link with the airline’s alliance partner, British 19 ‘Fitting Look for 90s Style’ in British Airway News, January 29 1993 No. 941: 1 20 ‘Fitting Look for 90s Style’ in British Airway News, January 29 1993 No. 941: 12 21 ‘Fitting Look for 90s style in British Airway News, January 29 1993 No. 941: 12 22 ‘Fitting Look for 90s style’ in British Airway News, January 29 1993 No. 941: 7 23 Philippa Jane Eyeland designed the hat for Paul Costello. 24 ‘Fitting Look for 90s style’ in British Airway News, January 29 1993 No. 941: 7 327 A irways, and its facilities overseas. In Hong Kong, in May 1994, Qantas opened its first joint lounge with British A irways. Cups, paper napkins, toothpicks and playing cards were all standardised with the aim that the Qantas customer would not be able to notice the difference when transferring from Qantas domestic to Qantas international. Items such as blankets, pillows, glassware, cutlery and linen were also slated for such standardisation. And to represent the new corporate landscape, both at home and overseas, from July 1 1993 the in-fl ight magazine was renamed ‘Australian Way.’25 While Qantas’ reputation for product delivery was good, service delivery was one area that Qantas wanted to improve on, one in which they felt they could learn from Australian A irlines, which had taken a lead in lifting standards in his area.26 Apart from the public awareness of the merger, the aim of the standardisation process was to end the ‘nagging differences’ between the staff of the old Qantas and of Australian A irlines. For this reason the changes had to appear to be more than cosmetic. They were ‘designed to forge Qantas into a single airline which just happens to have international and domestic divisions’.27 Hammill saw a new uniform as: the only way [all] staff would feel as one when they could see each other in the same image....[So] the board decided…the one way we could lift the morale and really join the company together was to make sure the people were joined together.28 Suzanne De Monchaux expressed the same sentiment when she said what this new uniform was designed to do was ‘make us look like a corporation rather than a flight attendant.29 The winning designers of the new Qantas uniform were George Gross and Harry Watt of Adelaide, who designed together as the ‘George Gross and Harry Who Design Company.’30 Further distancing this selection process from the designer reputation of Pucci and YSL, the winning design had 25 ‘Consistent standard of cabin service’ Qantas News, Vol 41 No 6 May 12 1993: 5 26 ‘Managing Director, John Ward’ Special Edition. Qantas News, Vol 41 No 5 April 28 1993: 1 27 Ballantyne, 1994: 3 28 Day, 1994: no page no 29 Interview with Suzanne De Monchaux Fairl ight 27 September 2008 10:45 to 1:30pm 30 Qantas News Release ‘Qantas Launches New Uniform’, 16 December 1993 328 been selected from a ‘blind list’ of eight–their tender was known only as ‘D’. They were the unanimous choice, winning the tender as their submission seemed to match what the staff wanted in a uniform. It was thus probably significant that the Qantas uniform was not the first uniform they had designed, having previously worked on a uniform commission for the State Bank of South Australia. George Gross and Harry Watt had opened their first shop in Adelaide in 1974. They traded together but under separate labels. The first George Gross collection sold nationally in 1974 and the first Harry Who range came out in 1978. At the time of receiving the commission they had won nine major fashion awards and had exported their clothes to ten countries. The George Gross and Harry Who Design Company were recognised as working at the ‘top end’ of Australian fashion, with the George Gross ‘GG label’ better known for the use of expensive fabrics and couture styling and Harry Watt’s ‘Harry Who’ label a more relaxed collection that included knitwear. This company continues to be one of the longest- running fashion businesses in Australia, still trading with the labels George Gross, Harry Who and, in a lower price range, G2. Maggie Tabberer, interviewed in 2003, described Gross and Watt’s contribution to the Australian fashion industry as being remarkable: there was a period of time when all sorts of designer names were starting to drop out of things like the Australian Fashion Industry Awards. They never did. They always realised that to contribute to the industry at large, not just to their labels.31 As the controversy around the YSL uniform suggested, receiving the commission to design the Qantas uniform was now seen as a top prize for any Australian fashion designer. The winning design would represent Australia not just nationally but throughout the world. 31 Maggie Tabberer interviewed on George Negus Tonight, ABC television http:/ / www.abc.net.au/ dimensions/ dimensions_in_time/ Transcripts/ s814996.htm. While Gross and Watt may have supported the Australian fashion industry, in March 1995 The Hidden Cost of Fashion–Report on the National Outwork Information Campaign, a report on research conducted by the Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia– named George Gross along with other big names in the Australian fashion industry, such as Country Road and Ken Done, as paying under-award rates for their clothing workers in See Margaret Maynard for her discussion about this in relation to the Australian fashion industry in Margaret Maynard, 2001. Out of Line: Australian Women and Style, Sydney: UNSW Press 329 The new Qantas uniform was developed in an unusually short time. The styling was left up to the designers but they had to incorporate safety requirements and, using the design brief and staff survey, they had to accommodate preferences for the comfort and appearance of the uniform. As with the Yves Saint Laurent uniform, all garments were to be manufactured in Australia from wool and polycotton. Harry Watt described this design process as challenging in its combination of a tight brief and a uniform that needed to be worn in ‘climatic extremes ranging from Alice Springs in summer to Northern Europe in winter. We gave equal weight to practicality and looks, striving for a classic, more subtle design that people still w ill enjoy seeing in years to come.’32 With this in mind, the new uniform was designed to allow garments to interact with another in a layered look that allowed for staff to dress appropriately in any temperature. While flight attendants might be critical of specific uniform designs they are very aware of the constraints and practicalities when it comes to the design of a uniform. De Monchaux describes the complexity of the process: I don’t think people realise how much thought goes in to it (designing a uniform), just to clothe that many people, the budget, the safety and security, the health and safety risk, to get uniformity, to get people inspired to do their hair and makeup with the right colour tones.33 On the 16th December 1993, a special edition of Qantas News was launched with a four-page spread showing examples of the new uniform to be worn by the airlines 10,000 customer contact staff from late the following year. For the 1994 uniform, Qantas were to spend more than $9 million and outlay $1,000 to outfit staff with 21,000 jackets, 13,450 skirts, 25,000 men’s shirts, 36,250 blouses, and 5,000 earrings, and 5,000 tie-bars.34 To make the 32 ‘Qantas Launches New Uniform’ in Qantas News Release, 16 December 1993 33 Interview with Suzanne De Monchaux Fairl ight, 27 September 2008 10:45 to 1:30pm 34 In keeping with their commitment to use Australian companies and Australian fabric, the Qantas wardrobe suppliers included: Calcoup, knitwear; S.F. Corporate Clothing, uniforms: John Kaldor Fabric maker, fabrics; Kolotex Australia, hosiery; Luigi & Anthony, tailored trousers and tailored skirts; Macquarie Textiles, textiles; Moda Design, blazers and jackets; Oroton, handbags; Neoman, designer shirtmaker; Solution V, luggage and belts; Sydney Neckwear Company, ties and neckwear; Top Ryde Tailoring and A lterations, tailoring and alterations. In Stackhouse, 1995: 180 330 uniforms, 100,000 metres of navy wool fabric was needed and 100,000 metres of chambray shirting.35 In Sydney, a viewing of the sample uniforms was held in a B747 hangar at the Qantas Jet base at Sydney Airport. A video was also produced to show at special staff briefings and a tour in December was organised to show samples of the uniforms in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin and Canberra.36 Hamill and a promotional team travelled with the uniform to launches in Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Frankfurt and Rome in January 1994. The new uniform also appeared at a launch, held over two days, at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, with simultaneous presentations in Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart, Adelaide, and Perth. The Sydney-based communications company, Wavelength, prepared the launch, which included a video, ‘The Way Ahead’, in which frontline staff dressed in the new uniform appeared.37 James Strong, then Managing Director of Qantas, described the release of a new uniform for the Qantas of the future as an important event. It has a very special significance and symbolism as the uniform which will bring us together as one integrated group, and represents a milestone in moving forward together. Appearance and presentation are always important statements about individuals and organizations. Every one of us is [sic] Qantas on show each day. The new Qantas uniform is of Australian design and manufacture. It has classic style and represents ‘the Australian way’ of doing things–quality, practicality and quiet pride. He went still further in representing the significance of the uniform to what Qantas means: I trust that the people who are Qantas, that is its staff, not only wear the new uniform with pride, but also constantly remember that it represents a personal commitment to carrying 35 Jane de Teliga, ‘ Uniform view: the sky’s the limit’ in The Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday August 18,1994: 3. 36‘You asked for it…’Qantas News, 16 December 1993 ‘special edition’ a colour lift out of uniform 37 ‘The Way Ahead’ in QF News, (New name) September Vol 42 No 8 September 1994: 9 331 out our customer service roles to the highest standards every day by every person.38 It was not until the following year, on the 18th August 1994, that the new uniform first appeared in public. The first crew to wear the new uniform flew from Sydney to Adelaide, accompanied by Gross and Watt. In a Qantas News Release the new uniform was described as being ‘designed by Australian couturiers.’39 Harry Watt described the new uniform as ‘distinctive, fresh and professional’ as well as emphasizing that it was made in Australia from Australian wool.40 The press release foregrounded the responses of the flight attendants: ‘Flight attendant Janelle Foster, who modelled the uniform at an earlier photographic session declared: “ I just love it. It’s so easy to wear.” 41 The uniform was elsewhere described as having ‘a user friendly and conservative look’.42 But for Qantas publicity it was the practicality of the uniform for the crew that was its key selling point. Gross was quoted on the merits of the new uniform: smart, clean, uncluttered, flattering and in a comment from the crew who had worn it ‘extremely workable.’ He went on to say ‘It’s all very well to do something madly avant garde and fabulous but those sorts of things date very quickly and become very obvious and very boring and repetitious after a while. If it’s quiet and classically conservative then in five years it will still look current.’43 Gross, along with Watt, elsewhere stressed the importance of the flight attendants’ experience of the uniform in practice: consideration had to be made of the hot, cold and temperate climates that flight attendants can encounter in a single tour of duty. Consequently, each garment interacts with another, in a layered look that allows staff to dress for any temperature. 44 38 James Strong in Qantas News, 16 December 1993 “ special edition’ a colour lift out of uniform 39 ‘Qantas Introduces New Uniform Today’ Qantas News Release, 18 August 1994 40 ‘Qantas Introduces New Uniform Today’ Qantas News Release, 18 August 1994 41 ‘Qantas Launches New Uniform’ Qantas News Release, 16 December 1993 42 No author, ‘Plane Dressing: A Sartorial History of Qantas’ in The Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday August 18, 1994: 3 43 ‘Qantas Introduces New Uniform Today’ Qantas News Release, 18 August 1994 44 ‘Qantas Launches New Uniform’ in Qantas News Release, 16 December 1993 332 Through the extended consultation process the staff had selected the colour scheme of navy, red, white, gold and blue as the colours that best represented Qantas.45 The uniform featured a ‘new range of print and plain co-ordinates’ in midnight and cosmic blue. The mix-and-match uniform was supplied to 5,700 international and domestic flight attendants and cabin crew and a similar number of contact ground staff. The uniform was given the name the Qantas ‘Galaxy Collection’ to mark the airline’s flight into the ‘Third Millennium’. Watt and Gross said It’s all about the future, a break from the past…Galaxies, constellations, space and high flying…Moving into brighter things. To bridge the present with that exciting future, we thought of simplicity, classicism and timeless looks when designing the new Qantas uniform.46 As previous chapters had shown this was the return of an old image of what the flight attendant’s uniform should represent, but now, at the same time, this futuristic uniform had to look seamlessly corporate on and off the plane. With ‘simple and classical’ in mind Watt and Gross came up with a design that: incorporates the company logo in a subtle way, through the triangles on the print and the buttons, so it doesn’t scream at you! Our inspiration was the staff’s need. You have to be realistic when you’re designing a working garment. There are no ‘clinched waistlines, huge shoulders and teetering heels’ here! We were very conscious of the desire to unite two staff groups under one uniform. Our brief came from a committee made up of staff from both backgrounds, and that was vital in directing our design. It is completely unlike anything we have ever done before, and we feel it’s something that all Qantas customer contact staff can feel ownership of. They designed it with us!47 45 ‘You asked for it…’Qantas News, ’special edition’ 16 December 1993 46 ‘Welcome to the Third Millennium’ in Qantas News ‘special edition’ December 16 1993 47 George Gross and Harry Who ‘Welcome to the Third Millennium’ as part of the special edition Qantas News, ’special edition��� 16 December 1993 333 A ll core garments were labelled ’Designed for Qantas by George Gross and Harry Who Australia’ and there was a place to write the staff member's name on the tag. There were twenty pieces in the uniform, including skirts, uni-sex garments (tailored for men and women), jackets, vests, overcoats, scarves and belts, as well as cabin and suit bags. For a uniform to be wearable and yet withstand the challenges of fashion over a number of years is a challenging task for any designer. But the conservatism of the uniform, with its return to suits in shades of blue, was also in keeping with w ider trends in the fashion industry, which had also become more conservative after the excesses of the 1980s. One element of the eighties that was retained in the uniform were the shoulder pads. Pam Allom thought the shoulder pads in the jacket were enormous and they looked ‘funny’ on her as she was not particularly tall.48 The shoulders pads may well have seemed enormous in 1994, having been a high fashion detail in the 1980s, by the early 1990s shoulder pads had disappeared from most contemporary female clothing designs. In this way the ‘conservatism’ noted in the 90s’ designs for flight attendants uniforms are also a return to earlier designs which sat safely some years behind major fashion trends. In fact, the 1990s created a challenge for Harry Who and George Watt, who in their retail work ‘did glamour well.’49 Gross acknowledged that the ’social norm’ of the nineties was quieter: ‘It was no longer chic to show off. So a sense of minimalism came into not just fashion, in all sorts of ways in lifestyles.’50 Jane De Teliga, Style and Fashion Editor for The Sydney Morning Herald described the new Galaxy design for Qantas as reflecting ‘the general conservatism of broad-based taste.’ Her comments tellingly contrast the selection process and the aims of this design with those of some previous Qantas uniforms, notably the YSL design: A committee based on the fashion industry may well have made more radical decisions. However, those who will wear the uniform chose it. What they got was classical styling in 48 Interview with Pam Allom Petersham Tuesday 12 August 2008 2:00pm to 4:15pm 49 Lady Joan Hardy interviewed on George Negus Tonight, ABC television http:/ / www.abc.net.au/ dimensions/ dimensions_in_time/ Transcripts/ s814996.htm. Last accessed 30 November 2007 50 quoted from 70s, 80s 90s Fashion broadcast 6.30pm 24/ 03/ 2003http:/ / www.abc.net.au/ dimensions/ dimensions_in_time/ Transcripts/ s814 996.htm. Last accessed 24 March 2007 334 midnight blue wool and a ‘cosmic’ blue chambray with a rather old-fashioned geometric print–all very serviceable, very business like and very much a ‘uniform’ as the staff requested, rather than a ‘corporate wardrobe.’51 The staff committee had specifically requested ‘a uniform–not a corporate wardrobe.’ Their comment that ‘Some corporate uniforms have so many variations there can be confusion about who works for the company and who’s a customer’52 was repeated by the designers in interviews. This is a language for the style of the flight attendant that would have been impossible before the corporate context of the YSL design. The most distinctive features of this new uniform were the jacket and the fabric for the skirt and shirt. In a return to the past, the new jacket gave the impression of a double-breasted jacket but was actually a single button cross-over. The style was designed to minimise the usual bulk and restriction to movement of a double-breasted jacket, but despite this many of the staff complained that the jacket gaped at the front. This jacket came in pin-striped plain midnight blue for the flight attendants and in midnight blue with gold pin stripes for the Flight Service Directors, Pursers and Supervisors.53 Pam Allom, now a Flight Service Director, said that people would say that she looked like a member of the ‘violin mafia’ or an ‘undertaker’ in these pin-striped jackets.54 The shirt that was originally issued for the men was a chambray look by Neoman, but it stained easily in practice so Neoman’s changed it to a white polyester cotton business shirt. The female flight attendants could wear a white or a patterned shirt. De Moncahaux recalls that she ‘hated wearing’ the white with the navy suit as she felt like she was back in school.55 The original tie was blue with a small purple and red geometric pattern, but as a way of distinguishing between the customer service staff and the flight attendants the tie for the flight attendants was changed to red with a navy and white geometric pattern. 51 Jane de Teliga, ‘ Uniform View: the Sky’s the Limit’ in The Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday August 18,1994:3 52 George Gross and Harry Who ‘Welcome to the Third Millennium’ as part of the special edition Qantas News, 16 December 1993 “ special edition’ a colour lift out of the uniform 53 Qantas News Release ‘ Qantas Introduces New Uniform Today” 18 August 1994 54 Interview with Pam Allom Petersham Tuesday 12 August 2008 2:00pm to 4:15pm 55 Interview with Suzanne de Monchaux Fairl ight, Saturday 27 September 2008 10:45pm to 1:30pm 335 Another aspect of this uniform was its aim to create an ‘extremely neat, tidy and professional look.’56 This meant the choice of knitwear items was reduced from those of the YSL uniform, as they were seen to create a more casual look, something which the designers wanted to avoid. A navy cardigan of 80 percent wool and 20 percent nylon, fastened with six gold buttons embossed with the Qantas kangaroo was to be worn in-flight only. Other design choices clearly respond to the changed demographics of flight attendants and the blurring of the distinctions between them and other customer service staff. In the early days of Qantas the flight hostess uniforms were not only tailored made there was also a more standard and restricted size range. Once the same uniforms were being designed for both flying crew and ground crew (where weight and height restrictions didn’t apply) it became a much more complex job designing a uniform that would fit all body types. The navy trousers made by Luigi and Anthony of Sydney were 70 percent wool and 30 percent polyester and had two vertical zip pockets at the side fronts. A straight-line skirt was introduced as it was considered ‘more flattering to girls [sic] of all sizes.’57 Hammill commented that ‘The designers have paid particular attention to the cut and pattern grading for sizes 16-24 because these girls had to feel as comfortable in the garments as the smaller sizes.’58 The distinctive Yves Saint Laurent kangaroo-patterned fabric was replaced with a geometric patterned chambray in ‘cosmic blue, midnight blue, red, white and a touch of yellow.’59 Gosia Reflinski, an Adelaide- based textile designer, was involved in developing the textile design concept for a fabric to be used on the blouse and polycotton skirts. With the kangaroo gone from the print there was there was nothing inherently Australian about the design. While the kangaroo print had not always proved popular, Hamill had suggested it was one of the reasons why the Yves Saint Laurent uniform had been chosen from other international designs, because there had been ‘few submissions which truly represented Australia.’60 Paradoxically, Gross and Watt may not have been interested 56 Carolin Barber, ‘You asked for It’ in special edition Qantas News, 16 December 1993 Special edition a colour lift out of the uniform: no page no 57 Barber, 1993: no page no 58 Barber, 1993: no page no 59 The kangaroo print was considered ‘rather gauche’ with its primary colours and flying kangaroo see Jane de Teliga, ‘ Uniform view: the sky’s the limit’ in The Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday August 18,1994: 3 60 Selina Day, ‘Qantas Staff take to the Skies in Cosmic Blue’ in AAP News 18 August 1994 336 in an ‘Australian look’ for the uniform. In the 1980s, Gross had said in an interview in the Melbourne Herald ‘we live in an international age. You can see the same clothes from Paris to Baghadad. There is no such thing as an Australian style. Our clothing is an adaptation of certain themes set down by the European houses.’61 Fashion writer Maggie A lderson was of the same opinion when she wrote a retrospective piece on Australian fashion in 2004. She described arriving from London in 1993: I can remember the list still: Trent Nathan, Carla Zampatti, Robert Burton, Simona, Weiss…When I arrived and checked them out I found very elegant, tailored clothes on the one hand, and cheap and cheerful fun gear on the other. It was nice, but– with respect–nothing I couldn’t get at home in London.62 Margaret Maynard's argument for a history of Australian style in fashion singles out the 1990s as a low period in the fashion industry when sales of Australian-made clothing dropped.63 In 1991, the tariff rates in the textile, clothing and footwear industries were substantially reduced (tariff reductions had begun in 1986 and continued into the next millennium) and this meant that these industries were forced to compete more directly with global competition and many businesses had to be restructured in an effort to make them more competitive.64 The challenges for the industry resulted in a position where, as Maynard says, ‘Clothing has become monochrome and reserved, even uniform, and certainly low key.’65 It would not be until events such as Collette Dinnegan showing her collection in Paris, at the Rue de Rivoli Fashion Week in 1995, and the first 61 Quoted in Joel, A lexandra, [1984, 1998] Parade: The Story of Fashion in Australia, Sydney: Harper Collins: 252 62 Maggie A lderson, ‘20 Years of Fashion’ in The Sydney Morning Herald, Good Weekend 20th Anniversary Issue 2004: 63 63 Between 1989 and 1996 employment in the textile clothing and footwear industries decreased by 20% in Maynard, 2001: 87 64 K. Jayanthakumaran, 1999. Trade Policy Reform and the textile, Clothing and Footwear Industry, Australia: 1993-97, Faculty of Commerce - Economics Working Papers University of Wollongong http:/ / ro.uow.edu.au/ cgi/ viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=commwkpapers accessed 19 February 2008 11:00am 65Margaret Maynard, 2001. Out of Line: Australian Women and Style, Sydney: UNSW Press 337 Mercedes Australian Fashion Week in 1996 that the Australian industry started to revive and be recognised internationally.66 Another context for the removal of Australian iconography from the uniform is the emergence, in counterpoint to the nationalistic sentiment of the 1980s, of an internationalist sentiment that partly responded to Sydney winning (on 23 September 1993) the bid to host the Olympic Games in 2000. It was thought that the new look for Qantas’ would be even ‘more significant: carrying athletes and their families to and from the Games.’67 In publicity for the Olympics, the City of Sydney Council released a glossy publication Global Sydney: Sydney’s Competitive Edge. As the name suggests, this was designed to show how Sydney had the facilities and infrastructure of a global city. Heightening the significance of this context, the new Qantas uniform, amidst the suite of other corporate changes, were released at the same time as the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Canada, on 18th August 1994–another event that brought images of Australia on an international stage freshly into popular consciousness. Early in 1994, Qantas had purchased the rights to Peter A llen’s song ‘I Still Call Australia Home’. The song was sung in a television commercial first screened on Channel 10 during the commercial breaks for the opening ceremony of these games. One of the two minute advertisements showed a range of Australian musical celebrities of the time–Kate Cebrano, James Blundell, Yothu Yindi, Jack Jones and Tommy Emmanual–singing ‘I Still Call Australia Home’ in different locations around the world. In October 1998, the new uniform was altered as part of changes to the airline’s in-flight product and service. A serving jacket was offered as an alternative to the standard jacket, to be worn during meal service in First and Business Class. As a practical alternative to the vest a meal service apron was worn by crew working in economy class. It was described as protecting the uniform while creating an aspect of professionalism during meal service.68 There were now three different colour ways for the scarves and ties, again appearing to mark off different roles within the corporate 66 The exception being surfwear labels such as Quicksilver, Billabong and Mambo which had established overseas markets. 67 George Gross and Harry Watt, ‘Welcome to the Third Millennium’ as part of the special edition Qantas News, 16 December 1993 ‘special edition’ a colour lift out of the uniform. 68 In Qantas News October 1998: 11 338 schema: gold for customer service managers, red and navy for customer service, and red and white for the flight attendants. Accompanying the alterations to the uniform was a ‘Runway Qantas Style Guide Harry Who and George Gross Uniform’. It was reported here that ‘10,000 front line staff meet, greet or seat more than 18.5 million Qantas customers each year’69 and this is the rationale for a reminder to staff about uniform standards. This includes instructions about what to wear and how to wear many of the garments that made up the uniform. For example: the new maternity dress in navy with short or long sleeves, with detachable collar and cuffs, was ‘to be worn solo’, not with a vest or jacket, while the standard dress was to be worn with ink navy hosiery and, while the vest or jacket was optional, the tie should be worn consistently: ‘Let the tip reach your belt buckle, and secure it with a Qantas tie bar (optional).’ The cardigan was to be worn as professionally as possible– ‘Keep all six buttons done up and sleeves down to the wrist’70–and shoes were a particular matter of concern: Please do not wear; Soft ‘jiffy’ style shoes Doc Martins or extreme fad styles Platforms or exaggerated chunky styles Metal trim, ribbons, bows, gold patterned heels Pointy toes or stiletto heels Patent, suede or fabric shoes Lace-up boots with skirts–although a lady’s ankle boot may be worn with pants.71 These specifications might also be understood as standardisation of corporate image, but the continuity between such detailed regulation and the earlier image control of the glamorous air hostess should not be forgotten. The Style Guide also specified jewellery for females too: a maximum of three rings for each hand, one pair of earrings no larger than 69 ‘Runway Qantas Style Guide Harry Who and George Gross Uniform’, 1998: 3 70 The buttons were an item that caused problems for the flight crew as they would get caught in the benches or fixtures while on board aircraft. 71 ‘Runway Qantas Style Guide Harry Who and George Gross Uniform’, 1998:12 339 an Australian 5cent coin (small gold, silver, pearl or diamond studs were recommended as an excellent choice) and only one earring in each ear. A list of unacceptable jewellery included drop or loop earrings, coloured earrings, ankle chains and nose studs. There was also a list of recommendations on ’Duty Travel Apparel’, or what crews could wear when out of uniforms. These style guidelines were very comprehensive, allowing little doubt as to what could and could not be worn with the uniform. The style guidelines were used a management tool to keep staff disciplined about their appearance both on and off the aircraft. That this does maintain some continuity with the older glamorous image of the air hostess is evident in the way her image continued outside of corporate guidelines. At the same time as the new uniform, the hosiery company Kolotex updated its ‘Sheer Relief’ panty hose marketing and packaging by featuring two Qantas flight attendants, Rebecca Bowler, from short haul, and Rosemary Cottee, a long haul flight attendant, on the cover.72 In 1995, Qantas celebrated its 75th birthday in its all-Australian uniform and it also became fully privatised. In June of that year the Australian Government had launched a public float of the remaining 75 percent of Qantas and, on 31st July 1995, the shares began trading at the Australian Stock Exchange.73 As part of the birthday celebrations a new plane, Boeing 747-338 VH-EBU, was unveiled, revealing that it was painted in an Aboriginal rainforest design called Nalanji Dreaming.74This was not the first Qantas jet painted using an Aboriginal design. A year before, over 700 guests attended two Qantas Product and Service launches in a British A irways hangar at London’s Heathrow Airport on September 15th 1994.75 The star of the show was not the new uniform but a Qantas jet painted in a design by Balarinji Designs. That plane, Wunala (kangaroo) Dreaming, had been painted with a design that depicted the story of journeys by spirit ancestors in the form of kangaroos. The month before the plane had 72 ‘Kolotex ‘Updates’ w ith New Uniform’, Qantas Flight News, Vol 42 no 8 Set 1994 73 Stackhouse, 1995: 188 74 The livery was designed by John and Ros Moriarty of Balarinji, trading as Jumbana Pty Ltd, South Australia. In Qantas Annual Report 1995/96 75 Ken Cato was contracted to re-design the aircraft interiors and he was asked to create ‘something that reflected the best of Australian style. H is designs were based around colours and patterns that you might see peering from an aircraft window at 30,000 feet in ‘Patterns of an Ancient land’ in A World of Change, Qantas: the Australian Airline l ift out to launch the new service and product initiatives, August 18 1994 340 been to Frankfurt76 and its inaugural flight had been timed to coincide with the opening of Renzo Piano designed Kansai International A irport, Osaka, in 1994. This indigenous image for Qantas was to become important and warrants some more background. Early in 1993, Ros Moriaty of Balarinji Design had written to Qantas Managing Director, James Strong suggesting they paint one of the Qantas jets with a Balarinji design.77 Balarinji at the time was a small Adelaide based design studio with the corporate slogan, ‘where ancient culture connects with contemporary design.’78 As well as their designs being used in a collection by George Gross in 1986, they had designed a uniform for Budget Car Rentals.79 The Balarinji idea was to paint a jet to celebrate the Year of the Indigenous Peoples (1993). Strong at first refused the request. But later in 1993 Ansett A irlines was granted a Japanese route to fly to the new Kansai A irport and Qantas realised that they now had direct competition on one of their most lucrative international routes. Needing a new promotional push, the Balaranji design seemed the right approach for an ‘ambush marketing’ campaign. In 1994, Robert Tickner, the Federal Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs from 1990 to 1996, was present at the rollout of the Wanalu Dreaming. He congratulated Qantas for taking Aboriginal Art to the world and described the occasion as follows: ‘If we as a nation believe in the reconciliation process, if we believe in bringing greater understanding between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, this [aircraft] must be seen as a flying beacon of hope in that process.80 The Wunala Dreaming 747 became the single most reported aircraft design feature in the 1990s. The impact of the indigenous designs created a direct path to the rebadging of British A irways in 1997, when they used fifty art works from indigenous and ‘national designs’. In a campaign named the ‘Utopia Project’, these designs, or portions of the designs, were to appear 76 ‘Wunulu Dreaming’ stars in UK product launch’, Qantas News, Vol. 44 No. 10 October 1994: 11 77 Adam Shoemaker, 1997. Flying Rock Art: The Balarinji Phenomenon, Queensland University of Technology. Unpublished manuscript 78‘Balarinji’ in http:/ / indigo.org.au/ members/ balarinji Last accessed 18 February 2008 11:47am 79 Lyndall Crisp, ‘Life’s Rich Fabric’ Qantas: The Australian Way, July 2000: 74 80 ‘New Look Flying Kangaroo’, The Sun-Herald, 4 September, 1994: 9 in Shoemaker 1997 341 on every plane in the British A irways fleet. A Clifford Possum and a design from Balarinji were included in the artworks.81 In February 2002, a Boeing 737-800 Yananyi Dreaming, which had a design that told the story of Uluru, became the first domestic aircraft to be painted with a Balarinji design.82 In the same year, Qantas revived the company name ‘Australian A irlines’ and rebadged it as a new international airline flying tourist routes between Cairns, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taipei. This new corporate move involved a new casual style uniform designed by Australian designer Peter Weiss, incorporated the ‘unique colours of the Australian desert’ in black pants, a desert sand-coloured bomber jacket and a black hooded overcoat.83 The aircraft livery created by Hulbosch Communication used ochre as the signature colour and the Qantas kangaroo on the tail was surrounded by a dot pattern resembling traditional indigenous dot-painted.84 Balarinji had no input into this design and the use of the dot pattern came under criticism. Brenda Croft, the curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art at the National Gallery of Australia, accused Qantas of appropriating Aboriginal designs w ithout proper acknowledgement. This criticism also came in the context of new work in protecting indigenous artists’ intellectual property rights.85 Qantas had previously been criticised when it was acknowledged that the face of their 1994 six million dollar ‘Spirit of Australia’ campaign, Carol Napangardi, was living in sparse and difficult conditions in the remote Wirrimanu community in Western Australia. 86 Qantas would defend their use of indigenous people and designs in both these instances. And in 2003 Qantas would introduce a new uniform that deployed a different and more symbolic form of the ‘A ll Australian concept’, using an indigenous design as the main design feature of the flight attendant uniform. 81 Adam Shoemaker, 1997. Flying Rock Art: The Balarinji Phenomenon, Queensland University of Technology. Unpublished manuscript 82 In May 2007 John Moriaty flew to Canberra in a Balarinji designed jet with 35 of the original campaigners to commemorate the occasion of the yes vote in Australia’s 1967 referendum in http:/ / www.abc.net.au/ worldtoday/ content/ 2007/ s1933285.htm accessed 18 February 2008 12.49pm 83 In July 2006 Australian A irlines ceased operation and was replaced later in the same year with Jetstar A irways. 84 ‘Australian A irlines’ in Qantas: The Australian Way, October 2002: 15 85 Andrew Hornery’ ‘Spots of bother for Qantas over logo’, ‘Australia Style ‘ in The Sydney Morning Herald, Wednesday December 12 2001: 5 86 Andrew Hornery, ‘Corporate Dreamtime collides with reality’ in The Sydney Morning Herald, March 20 2000:1 342 chapter fifteen M orrissey 2003- present day 343 On September 11th 2001 at 09:49 there were 3,667 scheduled flights across America. By 11:40 am there were 290 Flights.87 And so began a dramatic period in aviation history. For the forty years prior to these events the airline industry had been expanding at a rate of six percent per year.88 But the dramatic events now known as ‘September 11’ combined with a widespread economic downturn, the SARS epidemic in 2002-03 and the emerging Iraqi conflict, saw the airline industry confronted with conditions beyond their control. In response to the general downturn in the industry, which made increasing their market share more urgent, on the 20th February 2002, Qantas called for expressions of interest from some of Australia’s leading designers to provide a new uniform for the domestic and international cabin crew and ground staff. The design brief was to ‘provide a modern, attractive and functional uniform, suitable for a premium airline operating in both domestic and international arenas.’89 Qantas Executive General Manager Sales and Marketing, John Borgetti had asked Vogue Editor Kirstie Clements to help with the selection of eight designers: Our goal is to develop a uniform for our Flight Attendants and Customer Service staff on the ground that it is stylish and distinctive, reflecting the modern and engaging attributes that epitomise the spirit of Australia,’ Mr Borghetti said. ‘With Vogue’s help, we have chosen designers who we feel will be able to deliver on this basis, and we hope they will all be interested in talking to us about the project. 90 George Gross and Harry Watt were once again asked to submit designs, along with Leona Edmiston, Morrissey, Saba, Scanlan and Theodore, Jonathan Ward for RM Williams, Carla Zampatti and Zimmermann.91 Borghetti described for this mix of new and old interlocutors the complexities of designing a new uniform: 87 Gillian Fuller and Ross Harley, 2004. Aviopolis: A Book about Airports, London: Black Dog Publishing: 47 88 Stephen Armstrong, ‘The Plane Truth’ in Wallpaper, June 2003: 43-46 89 http:/ / www.qantas.com.au/ info/ about/ uniforms accessed August 10, 2008 90 ‘Qantas Seeks Australian Designer for New Uniform’ Press Release by Qantas Corporate Communication, 20 February 2002 91 Leona Edmiston was in partnership with Morrissey under the label Morrissey Edmiston from 1983 until 1997. 344 Qantas Cabin Crew perform a wide and varied number of tasks on board their flights so what they wear must be comfortable and practical. But our crew are also the face of Qantas, a world famous Australian airl ine that has to appeal to an international market, and their image has to represent everything the Qantas brand stands for–attributes such as quality, professionalism, and contemporary style.92 The brief for ‘style’ may well have been a comment about why the Gross and Watt design needed to be updated. Borghetti further commented that, during the 81-year history of Qantas, the uniforms had always been ‘perfect for their time’. The now standard slogan for a new uniform was also added–what was required was ‘a fresh look to take us into the future.’ It was expected that the new uniform would be available by the end of the year. By July 2002, there were comments in the daily print media that the Sydney based Morrissey fashion house had won the rights to design the new uniform. It was suggested that one of the strengths of the Morrissey company was that it had recently been acquired by Oroton and thus had a strong manufacturing base.93 But it was not until the 13th November 2002 that Qantas announced that Peter Morrissey had been selected. The unlikelihood of George Gross and Harry Watt being offered another chance at designing the uniform was apparent in the following comment: As we move away from a heavily navy influenced environment in both our inflight product and design philosophy it was evident that the current uniform (Gross and Watt) no longer reflected the Qantas brand. We felt it was timely to update and refresh our look to better reflect the ‘Spirit of Australia.’94 It was expected that Morrissey would design a uniform that was ‘contemporary and stylish’ although Borghetti continued to stress that the uniform must ‘meet the challenge of the very active work our flight attendants and ground staff perform. Durability, flexibility and comfort 92 ‘Qantas Seeks Australian Designer for New Uniform’ Press Release by Qantas Corporate Communication, 20 February 2002 93 ‘Flight Patterns’ in The Sydney Morning Herald, July 20-21 2002: 22 94‘Qantas Uniforms’ http:/ / www.qantas.com.au/ info/ about/ uniforms Last accessed 6 September 2007 345 are crucial.’ 95 Borghetti described Morrissey’s interpretation of the design brief as ‘exciting’ while Morrissey said ‘It is a great honour to have my Morrissey fashion brand chosen by such a legendary Australian icon. My uniforms reflect the airline’s modern attitude with a distinctive Australian edge.’96 The deadline for the new uniform was pushed back to the middle of 2003. The contrast between the present Gross and Watt ‘staff’ designed uniforms and Morrissey’s reputation could not be more clear. Morrissey was known for a sexy look reminiscent of Gucci circa 1968 (or Tom Ford circa 1999), with hipster jeans and skin-tight shirts unbuttoned down the front. He was an experienced designer, having started in the fashion business in 1982 with the Ox Co-op in Darlinghurst, Sydney, and then teaming with Leona Edmiston in 1983 to start the Morrissey/ Edmiston label. This label received four Australian Fashion Industry (AFI) awards, but in 1997 Morrissey went solo with the ‘Morrissey’ label. His website describes his design philosophy and studio practice as creating ‘designs that revolve around notions that people like to look and feel sexy without fuss, and have a desire to live a fast and modern lifestyle with ease.’97 Morrissey is one of the few designers who acknowledges their uniform designs in any of their corporate representation and publicity material. This may have a lot to do with the uniform still being current but it also reflects Morrissey’s promotional attitude.98 In the many books published about Yves Saint Laurent and Pucci it is rare to see mention of their involvement in the designs of Qantas uniforms, but the Morrissey website highlights his pleasure at winning the tender to design the new Qantas uniform. The website says, ‘The sky’s the limit for Morrissey’ and ‘I always wanted my own plane’. Little did he know that in September 2003, he’d be given his own airline…to dress of course!99 In accepting the commission, Morrissey was also placed in the prestigious company of industrial designer Marc Newson, and celebrity chef Neil Perry.100 A ll 95 ‘Morrissey to Outfit Qantas Staff’, Qantas Corporate Communications, 13 November 2002 96 ‘Morrissey to Outfit Qantas Staff’, Qantas Corporate Communications, 13 November 2002 97 ‘Morrissey’ in www.morrissey.net.au Last accessed 3 March 2008 11:10am 98 Telephone conversation Cat Burke Marketing Manager for Morrissey, June 2000 99 Morrissey www.morrissey.net.au Last accessed 3 March 2008 11:10am 100 Marc Newson would continue his association with Qantas and design the new first class lounges at Sydney and Melbourne International A irports (opened In May 2007) and the interior for the A irbus A380 (September 2008). 346 three, very famous within an Australian context although perhaps only Newson has an equal international reputation, were part of a larger corporate plan by Qantas to recapture a lead role in the highly competitive business-class sector through design innovation. Newson was commissioned to design a ‘Skybed’ to replace existing business and first class seating and Perry was commissioned to update his menus for first and business class. Controversy loomed before the uniforms were manufactured. Early in August 2002, even before it was announced that while Morrissey had won the contract to design the new uniform, the Dowd Corporation of Victoria had won the contract to manufacture the uniform. The Qantas uniform was the largest corporate clothing contract in Australia. Before a formal announcement had been made the Textile Clothing and Footwear Union (TCFUA) expressed concern that despite the airline spending six million dollars on the ‘I Still Call Australian Home’ advertisement, the uniforms would be made overseas.101 An article titled ‘Qantas Dressed Down over Uniform Back flip’, in Workers Online the Journal for Labour Council of NSW, described this as an about-face on a June 2000 agreement with Qantas and the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) involving the production of uniforms and other clothing. Under threat was the agreement with the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) and the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia (TCFUA) that committed the airline to ending the exploitation of outworkers involved in the manufacture of its uniforms. 102 The article stated that Qantas had sent a letter to suppliers citing the impact of September 11th and stressing that because of the resulting ‘turmoil‘ it would be assessing both the domestic and international markets in its review of clothing product supply services. Despite these concerns, Dowd won the contract to manufacture the uniforms and the majority of the uniform was manufactured off shore.103 The new uniform, designed to reflect the ‘Spirit of Australia’, was launched to the public on 30th June 2003 although it was not issued to staff until September of that year. For the first time the staple colour of the 101 Rod Smith, ‘Stil l Call Australia Home- but only if we must’ in The Sunday Mail, August 11 2002: photocopy 102‘Qantas Dressed Down</p>
