Trendy high-flying collection

British Airways (BA) marked 80 years of flying to Bahrain with a catwalk show displaying the range of staff uniforms worn over the decades during an evening of celebration in the kingdom.

The airline’s first flight arrived in the kingdom on October 2, 1932, under the banner of Imperial Airways, the airline’s predecessor.

The Handley Page HP42 aircraft took off from Croydon in south London, taking six long days to make a ‘lunch stop’ in Bahrain en route to India … eight decades later and it now takes just six hours.

And, with flying comes fashion. Paul Jarvis, BA’s director of the British Airways Museum, arrived in the country from the UK just for the occasion, bringing a small selection of the 450 uniforms in the collection to celebrate the success of the airline at the British Embassy.

With uniforms ranging from the 1940s until the present day, a crowd including British Ambassador Iain Lindsay, British Airways area commercial manager Paolo De Renzis, Bahrain’s Civil Aviation Affairs officials, Bahrain Airport Company as well as business leaders and VIPs gathered around a white stage in the embassy’s garden to take a nostalgic look into the high flying fashions of yesteryear.

Mr Jarvis, 67, said: “People love to see the old styles of the airline’s uniforms. Today our uniform is designed by Julien MacDonald, a very famous British fashion designer. Many, if not all, the uniforms have been designed by Britain’s most illustrious creators and fashion houses, including Paul Costelloe, Roland Klein and Sir Hardy Amies.

“We have more than 450 uniforms in the collection but they are not all high-end stewardess fashion. The first female cabin crew was introduced in 1946 and that’s when the airline’s fashion image started.”

The first model that took to the stage wore a 1946 plain wool buttoned up, A-line nipped and tucked grey suit. It was apparent that fashion goes full circle with Mr Jarvis explaining: “This dress would be able to be worn today and considered fashionable!”

The decades were soon flying by and the guests were introduced to one leggy blonde, strutting along in the 1950s uniform. The military-style suit was in light grey with a short blazer and even with the model’s height, the skirt was inches below the knee.

Things took a more daring turn when in walked a model wearing a bright blue 1970s short shift dress with a zip that went down the front, accompanied by an oversized coat to match the red wings of the British European Airlines’ wings.

Mr Jarvis said: “The shift fashion dress was introduced when the Boeing 747 came into service in 1970. The reason behind it, apart from being the fashion at the time, is that it was ‘easy-wear’. Those days it was easy care and made out of crimplene – the staff members could just wash them in the hotel sink and drip dry overnight ready for the next morning. It was wrinkle-resistant and retained its shape well.”

BA operated the first commercial supersonic Concorde flight on January 21, 1976, from London Heathrow to Bahrain. The flight took less than four hours and continued until October 1980.

Hardy Amies created two styles of uniforms for Concorde stewardesses at that time, with a pale blue as well as a navy suit.

The show closed with two crew members strutting down the catwalk in current outfits for men and women. The latest design aims to reflect the airline’s British heritage.