Zambesi style
Design
In theory, the dual constraints of economy and practicality could confine uniform designers to parameters so narrow they aren't left with too much room for aesthetic maneuvering. Elisabeth says she felt no such constraints with the Air New Zealand commission. Any constraints that did exist were implicit in the nature of the job and weren't imposed by the airline company, she says. Elisabeth embraced certain features of the national airline's culture and history as givens, as must-have metaphors for the airline's (and by association the country's) history; most notably the beloved Koru. "Things that we thought shouldn't change."
It's obvious that Elisabeth approached the commission with a sense of pride and saw it as an opportunity to express, through her craft, her feelings of what it means to be a Kiwi.
"It was Air New Zealand. It's an icon. We had a sense of ownership, which is probably shared by the rest of the country."
Like any other art-form, fashion can say a lot about time and place and history. And like any poet, painter or songwriter, Elisabeth Findlay's challenge was to translate these feelings into real objects. That's the craft of it. Her creative vision, as expressed in the pitch Zambesi made to the airline, obviously struck a chord with Air New Zealand management. (Elisabeth says she later presented the airline with an alternative design for a skirt which was declined.)
The whole discipline of making the presentation, of presenting her ideas and philosophies was "quite an amazing experience", Elisabeth says.
"Unless you are given the opportunity to do that you are busy working and not talking a lot. Sometimes analysing why you are doing something or why you want to do something helps you understand what is at the heart of what you do."
After being awarded the commission, Elisabeth and her team began to focus on refining their ideas and figuring out a way to translate them into a very functional set of working clothes. Elisabeth and assistant Tulia Wilson spent a lot of time at the back of airports, behind desks, and on planes working out exactly what was required. The staff they questioned all had firm ideas and opinions - some wanted to look sexy and some just wanted plenty of pockets. The airline organised three workshops, attended by hundreds of staff from all areas of the business to gauge views; these were followed by online surveys involving thousands of staff. The consultative process is one designers ignore at their peril. Air Canada had a class-action taken out against it by disgruntled staff members who claimed they hadn't been sufficiently consulted before being presented with a new set of uniforms.
The skirt design was changed. Not as a result of any input from airline staff but because Elisabeth came to realize that the original design would very difficult to alter. "It needed to be easier. They (Airline staff) might want to get it shortened or let out by a tailor. There were a few too many seams and panels."
One of the things Air New Zealand wanted the new uniforms to express was nationality. National dress is the obvious way to go about this; Singapore Airlines achieves this very well with its "Singapore Girl" sarongs. But a flax skirt is no sarong and Zambesi had to look at other, more subtle, mechanisms to convey the idea. Colour being one, cut being another. The soft lines of the uniforms' cut and their muted schist, greenstone and teal tones were chosen to reflect New Zealand's quiet natural places. The detailing on the clothes was designed to tell a story. Created by Māori ta moko (traditional tattoo) artist Derek Lardelli, the detailing makes heavy use of patterns from traditional harakeke raranga (flax weaving). The whatu, or diamond shape, is a touchstone symbol meaning centre or core in Māori culture. The Koru, a national symbol of beginnings, nurture, growth, and regeneration, is there; implicit in its combination of straight lines and soft curves is the idea of movement and travel.
From the outset, Elisabeth was keen to use fine merino fabric in part of the new range - not only because of its fineness and functionality - wool is naturally flame-resistant, breathable and comfortable in a range of climates - but for its iconic value.
"We wanted that truly New Zealand imagery the material conjures up."
A 95% wool and 5% lycra blend was used for suiting material. (This was subsequently changed to a pure wool, a move which improved the washability, wearability and crease-resistance of parts of the range.)
