Riyadh Air has collaborated with fashion designer, Ashi, founder of Parisian couture house Ashi Studio  to produce a new runway worthy uniform. The new uniform debuted at Haute Couture Week in Paris. The high-fashion launch of the new exclusive uniform range for the airline, assisted by Current Global, positions Riyadh Air a luxury, future-forward brand.

A mixture of 15 male and female looks were showcased at the Paris Couture Fashion Week. With ten womenswear and five menswear looks, the debut marked a first-of-its-kind Haute Couture Week showcase. The unique launch earned coverage in the Financial Times, Grazia, and Vogue Arabia.

These looks were inspired by 1950s airline fashion, successfully leaning on nostalgia for that golden age of flying. Adapting the classic look to a modern era, the new uniform includes timeless cashmere outerwear, and fine wool dresses and trousers.

Accessories range from amethyst earrings to iconic pillbox hats. The range showcased pilot outfits, as well as those for stewards and stewardesses, concierges, and airport agents. There are seasonal versions of the uniform, allowing crew to change their look during the year.

Designer, Ashi, cultivated new, bespoke tones for the collection. For womenswear, the new tone is Electric Amethyst, and for menswear,Dark Amethyst. Both are in-keeping with Riyadh Air’s primary colour and paying homage to the lavender fields of the airline’s home country, Saudi Arabia.

The relationship between airline uniforms and fashion has been present in the zeitgeist since the commercialisation for flying. As the in-person image for an airline, the appearance of the crew is integral to brand perception, which explains why aviation uniforms are taken so seriously.

Ashi Founder and Creative Director of Ashi Studio, explained: “Fashion and aviation have seen collaborations in the past, but its pinnacle was over 50 years ago and I was keen to be inspired by that time”.

In 1965, Italian designer Emilio Pucci, created the uniform for Braniff International Airways. French fashion designer, Pierre Balmain, created for Malaysia–Singapore Airlines in 1968 and French designer, Cristóbal Balenciaga, also French, produced uniforms for Air France in 1969.

Since then, more recent years have seen a decline in major designers creating aviation couture. In 2005 Christian Lacroix, a French designer, produced the uniform for Air France and in 2014, British designer, Vivienne Westwood, designed for Virgin Atlantic. So bringing high fashion back to aviation, for a new era, is a bold and modern move for Riyadh Air.

Ashi explained the inspiration and intention behind the line, saying: “We wanted to have the theme of the collection to pay homage to the golden age of aviation, so I took that literally and went back to the 1950s when luxury aviation was at its peak. What we’ve done here is modernized the lines and pushed them to be more relevant but with the glamour of the golden era”.

Aligning with this modernisation, Riyadh Air took the opportunity of its Haute Couture show to reaffirm its commitment to exploring sustainability, alongside Lucid, maker of electric vehicles. The partnership has a shared future vision of sustainable transport and eco-friendly practices.

By building on the iconic aviation looks of the 1950s and 1960s, the new collection and its prestigious launch align Riyadh Air with the luxury of golden-era aviation. At the same time, the airline consolidates its position as a modern brand, looking to sustainability and the future of air travel, with refreshed and modern designs. The campaign successfully leans on nostalgia and fashion culture to drive relevance.