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In March 2023 I wrote an opinion piece bluntly declaring, “It’s time for Air NZ to update its uniforms”. Two months later, the airline announced exactly that: after 12 years, they were looking for a new designer to give it an update. I had no insider information about their plans; just a lot of opinions, mostly about one piece in particular.
“The waistcoat, with its checkerboard pattern on the back featuring various ‘NZ’ motifs and the Australian saying ‘gidday’, is truly corny,” I wrote, calling it the worst part of the 2011-era uniforms (told you: I’m blunt).
I believed, and still do, that our national carrier, and by extension, Aotearoa, deserved uniforms that reflect who we are today. That’s a big ask for clothes, let alone workwear. Because what does it mean to be a New Zealander today, especially after the division sowed by the (just voted down) Treaty Principles Bill and other dog-whistle politics led by the current coalition? I do know that New Zealanders of all political stripes in 2025 value beautiful design, and are deeply proud of Aotearoa’s Māori culture. We are sophisticated, and we want to celebrate our indigenous heritage, on a local and global scale.
Back then, I floated names like Juliette Hogan, Kiri Nathan, Paris Georgia, and Wynn Hamlyn as potential candidates for the job of redesigning the Air New Zealand uniform. I was very much looking inward so London-based New Zealand-born designer Emilia Wickstead didn’t initially cross my mind. When she was announced in November 2023 as the ‘winner’ (Air New Zealand asked designers to express interest, and there was a long and extensive pitch process) I was not surprised, but did quietly wonder if choosing someone based overseas played into ingrained cultural cringe; the idea that local talent isn’t enough.
Last night, at a preview event in central Auckland, a few people very eagerly asked me what I thought; I put it down to that stroppy op-ed, and the anticipation surrounding these new designs.
Read Zoe's verdict in full on Substack
