Melbourne designer Martin Grant has today been appointed by Qantas as the Australian designer to develop the airline's new uniform.
Grant, who launched his first ready to wear collection 30 years ago in 1982, is currently based in Paris, and will replace Peter Morrissey in creating concepts for the new uniform for cabin crew and uniformed employees.
The Qantas uniform has been re-designed nine times since 1959 and Grant's uniform will succeed the existing design by Morrissey, which was introduced in 2003.
Commenting on the appointment Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said he was pleased to welcome Grant to the Qantas team.
“Martin excelled in what was a rigorous selection process and we now look forward to working with Martin to develop a new uniform,” he said.
“Martin’s work reflects modern and contemporary designs and we were extremely impressed with his appreciation for the Qantas brand and his enthusiasm to design the next instalment of the Qantas uniform.”
Grant said it was an honour to be selected as the new Qantas uniform designer.
“As an Australian, I’m proud to be working with such an iconic Australian brand. It will be wonderful to see the Qantas teams wearing my design across Australia and in cities all over the world,” he said.
“I’ve already had the opportunity to engage with a number of employees across the business and I look forward to working with them again as we develop the uniform.”
The next stage in the design process will see Martin engaging with the Qantas uniform panel and collaborating with Qantas employees to evolve concepts and designs.
The uniform panel consists of a dedicated team of uniformed employees representing their colleagues across the business, to provide feedback on elements such as design, wear and comfort.
Qantas aims to have its international and domestic cabin crew and ground staff sporting the new design in 2014.