Designer Emilia Wickstead reveals Air New Zealand’s new uniform at the airline’s Auckland headquarters. Video \ Jason Dorday
Air NZ unveiled its new uniform to the public for the first time on Friday.
The collection was designed by Kiwi fashion designer Emilia Wickstead, with prints designed by tā moko artist Te Rangitu Netana.
The new uniform has largely been met with a positive reaction from the public, with few expressing reservations.
When acclaimed Kiwi fashion designer Emilia Wickstead was ready to launch her designs for the new Air New Zealand uniform, she told the Herald that “pleasing everybody” kept her up “all night”.
While the designer was never going to make everyone happy with the new look, she has certainlyimpressed most.
International and local media reaction to the new wardrobe for the airline unveiled on Friday has been largely positive, lauding the refined aesthetic and storytelling elements that reflect national and cultural identity.
An article by the Telegraph asked if it is the most elegant cabin crew uniform in the skies, ranking the collection in the top spot for airline attire.
“Elegant and well-cut, with drape-neck details inspired by some of the Princess of Wales’ favourite dresses, this uniform is a future classic,” wrote head of fashion Lisa Armstrong.
The Telegraph has ranked Air NZ's cabin crew uniform as the most elegant in the skies.
Damien Woolnough, fashion editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, said the collection “brings a regal look”, adding that its meaningful and refined features served as a good example for Qantas, which announced it is searching for a new uniform designer in January.
“The combination of Wickstead’s elegant and refined aesthetic with UK-based [Te Rangitu] Netana’s contemporary storytelling techniques is an easy example for Qantas executives to reference,” he wrote.
Damien Woolnough, fashion editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, says Air NZ's collection should serve as a good example for Qantas.
Luxury and lifestyle travel magazine Condé Nast Traveller, which has a circulation of more than 700,000, called the new wardrobe a “master class in cultural celebration“ in its article headline. Its global editorial director Divia Thani also said on social media the uniforms were ”so beautiful”.
Viva‘sfashion editor Dan Ahwa argued the airline’s new uniform represents modern multiculturalism. Compared with the current uniform designed by Dame Trelise Cooper, which plays with the Kiwi sense of humour with its Kiwiana waistcoat, Ahwa said it was time for a design that connected more meaningfully to national identity.
“Another contentious print from the current uniforms is the polarising design on the back of the men’s waistcoat, with references to kiwiana tropes including buzzy bees and the phrase ‘always blow on the pie’. While there’s room for humour and nostalgia, the time feels right to provide staff with prints that feel more aligned with our general desire for connection to our identity.“
On social media, notable Kiwis who weighed in included Cooper, who launched her design for the national carrier in 2011.
“Congratulations Emilia, fly high and proud. We are so excited to see your elegant new uniform take flight for this next evolution in the Air New Zealand journey,” she wrote on Wickstead’s Instagram post.
Kiwi luxury skincare brand founder Emma Lewisham also commented: “Beautiful work, Emilia. The biggest congratulations! xx.”
The pilot uniform, however, which features a double-breasted bold pinstriped blazer with a kiwi feather lining, has drawn a more mixed reaction.
This morning, Kiwi TV broadcaster Kevin Milne told Newstalk ZB’s Jake Tame that the design was “pretty good” but asked if it was too “formal”.
“What surprises me, though, is that we are still dressing the captains and the first officers as though they were in military uniforms,” Milne said on air.
On the Herald’s Facebook post, one user wrote: “Why not go for comfort for the pilots? They look like Victorians with the pin stripe suit.”
But for every negative comment there was a counter-positive. “It’s great. Love the double-breasted, great to see hats and the inclusion of Pacific peoples with the faitaga. Overall a very inclusive representation of us,” wrote one user on Air NZ’s Instagram reel.
London-based Wickstead, whose garments have lured the likes of Kate Middleton, Naomi Watts and Renee Zellweger, will have her collection worn by more than 6000 Air NZ staff in 2026.
Varsha Anjali is a journalist in the NZ Herald Lifestyle team. Based in Auckland, she covers culture, travel and more.
