As Hawaiian Airlines observes its 80th year in business, flight attendants and customer service representatives are celebrating an updated look, unveiling new uniforms today.

It's been nine years since the airline has undergone a whole new uniform program. Not surprising, as researching, creating, testing and finalizing uniforms for 2,000 people required two years of work for a uniform committee, textile artist Emma Howard and uniform manufacturing company Apparel Solutions.

There were many concerns when considering the designs. "We wanted a professional uniform look yet something uniquely Hawaiian without looking touristy," explained Kim Meyer, a 19-year flight attendant and chair of the uniform committee.

The uniforms also have to complement a variety of environments, such as the interiors of the planes and the ticket counters.

Comfort, of course, is a critical issue, along with unrestricted movement. Flight attendants and customer service representatives have to be able to move, lift, bend and reach in their uniforms.

"They also have to fit many different body types," said Nola Donahue-Lewis, vice president of business development for Apparel Solutions. "We had to make sure it could cross over to all functions."

The committee settled on 11 styles, four for men and seven for women. Women can choose from a dress, skirt, pants, jacket, sweater or two blouses; men's choices include an aloha shirt, pants, jacket and sweater. Sizes range from XXS to 5XL.

The jacket is a simple, sophisticated, Armani-esque silhouette. The dress is the same style as the previous uniform, as it was extremely popular with the flight attendants. The skirt is an updated, slightly modified pencil skirt. The pants are streamlined and flat-front; "no puffy pleats," said Meyer.

THE COLOR WHEEL

"We have to be mindful that we are working with a multiracial society," Brian Worth, Hawaiian's senior director of marketing, said. Colors have to work with many different skin tones.

"We looked at 60 different colors," said Meyer.

While many airlines choose navy as their neutral color, Hawaiian is going with a charcoal gray.

Although purple has been the color most identified with Hawaiian Air in recent decades, it plays a smaller role in the new print, with azure being the dominant color. The colors are inspired by Hawaii's ocean and sky.

ALL ABOUT PRINT

Print, of course, is always prime in Island attire.

At the unveiling of the new uniforms in a luncheon at Washington Place last Wednesday, Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian's president and CEO, said the purple quilt-inspired print was not always understood by the airlines' Mainland and international passengers and he wanted to see something fresh and forward-looking. According to Dunkerley, as the airline observes its milestone, "Uniforms are an important expression of the company's identity, which is inseparably bound to our people."

He added, "We feel a heightened sense of obligation to represent the best of our island home to the rest of the world. This new look is an outward expression of our belief in the future of Hawaiian."

Textile designer Howard spent eight months, and a great deal of thought and research, creating Hawaiian's new aloha print. She sees the print as a way of telling the story of Hawaiian Airlines' rich history.

Howard drew her inspiration from the concept of "makahiki," a celebratory time of harvest and peace for the Hawaiian people, in keeping with the airline's anniversary celebration. Makahiki begins with the ascension of the star group Makalii (Pleiades), a constellation incorporated into the print.

She also employs a petroglyph representing the fish opelu and akule, which were traditionally caught during makahiki. The noio bird is represented because of its importance to Polynesian voyagers, who knew they were close to land when they sighted it. A petroglyph of Lono, the god of clouds, the sea and productivity, is also present in the print.

"She's a true artist," Meyer said of Howard.

A LITTLE HISTORY

The unveiling also featured a fashion show of Hawaiian's flight attendant uniforms since 1943. "They were really military-looking. They were made by a tailor who made men's suits," explained Worth, so even the women's uniforms had a menswear feel.

There was a marked change in the '50s, with a nipped-in waist, soft aqua color and more feminine silhouette; in the mid-'60s the suits looked quite Jacqueline Kennedy, with a little white straw hat tipped jauntily to the side. In 1969, a psychedelic Hawaiian print mini-dress made quite a statement. Believe it or not, in 1971, Hawaiian's flight attendants wore hot pants and white patent-leather boots. In 1974, the styles turned toward long, lean cheongsam-inspired dresses with side slits, and by 1979, an obi belt was added to the bold red and purple print.

Of course, the careers of flight attendants have changed over the years.

"Back in the day, the average flight attendant stayed 24 months, but now it's a career. It was a different profession in a different time," said Worth.

Reach Paula Rath at 595-4904. For more style stories, go to http://hawaiisfashionforum.honadvblogs.com.