Air India onboards Manish Malhotra to design crew uniforms

Air India employees will soon be donning uniforms designed by the famous fashion designer Manish Malhotra. As part of its transformation plan, Tata group owned carrier has roped in the Bollywood favourite to design uniforms for its cabin & cockpit crew, ground and security staff.

Campbell Wilson, CEO & MD of Air India, said the airline shares a common ambition with Manish Malhotra 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,” Wilson said on Thursday.

This will be the first time that Manish Malhotra will be designing uniforms for airline employees. Malhotra will be focusing on crafting uniforms where comfort and authenticity will be wrapped in timeless elegance.

"Reimagining Air India's uniforms is the onset of a journey of joy and collaboration, and I am excited to embark on it. Our shared ideology is simple yet profound: to evolve without erasing, to modernise without forgetting," Malhotra said.

Malhotra and his team have begun meeting Air India’s frontline staff, conducting discussions and fitting sessions with them to better understand their specialised needs.

Air India expects to commence rolling out new uniforms for about 10,000 employees by the end of 2023.