As part of new changes, female cabin crew, known for wearing an iconic red uniform, were provided with a pair of trousers in addition to the standard shirt and skirt. Prior to this female crew would have to specially request trousers if they wished to wear them. In the same year, Norwegian Air dropped their high heel and makeup requirement for female flight attendants and allowed male members of staff to wear ‘light make-up’. It came after they were criticised when it emerged its female flight attendants were forced to wear high heels, with the only exception being if they have a doctor’s note – which they would have to bring in daily.
The change comes amid changing attitudes to female airline staff, with a slew of airlines ditching restrictive elements of their uniform in recent years. In 2019 Virgin Atlantic announced that its female cabin crew would no longer have to wear makeup in order to allow cabin crew ‘more choice on how to express themselves at work’. Olga Tsaregradskaya, curator of the project, added that the airline worked with Ukrainian fashion designers to build the uniforms – notably the GUDU brand to develop the orange suits and the GUNIA PROJECT to create the silk scarf.
