The high-flying innovators in aviation uniform design.
The skies are buzzing with vibrant activity as businesses travel and tourists explore again. Refining brand identity for luxury travel, the cutting-edge designers in the professional clothing industry transform the image of airports and airlines alike.
PCIAW® takes an in-depth look at the uniform manufacturers utilising new design techniques with innovative fabric and garment technologies to improve the functionality, aesthetic and sustainability of garments from ground to the air.
PULSAR®
The PULSAR® brand is built on the foundation of quality, reliability, and innovation.
Their focus on the wearer means functionality is of paramount importance; it’s this ethos that saw the PULSAR® Heathrow Collection win the joint first prize for Best Design for Workwear/PPE at the PCIAW® Awards 2021.
Problem solvers with a creative flair
PULSAR®’s team of technical garment specialists are problem solvers with a creative flair for design. It was their attention to detail which led to their award of the contract for the largest airport in the UK. The PULSAR® Heathrow Collection boasts a range of high performance, hi-vis protective clothing that has been developed and designed in-house for Heathrow Airport Limited.
With approximately 160,000 total garments in the collection, PULSAR® produced everything from thermal base layers to hi-vis layered clothing, providing optimal visibility and safety for airport staff and visitors.
A boost for Team Heathrow
London Heathrow Airport, titans in aviation, desired a strong Team Heathrow mentality represented in a fully compliant, hi-vis protective uniform that was fully inclusive for all male, female and non-gender forming employees.
LHR needed uniformity in colours for people on the ground, whilst seeking a premium look for their employees that imbibed staff with pride and value, to increase morale and productivity throughout the workforce.
Designing for the Heathrow vision
This bespoke, design-led collection utilised several core garments as the foundations of the range; with the hi-vis yellow contrasting the corporate purple Heathrow branding. The PULSAR® design team went above and beyond to encapsulate the Heathrow vision by laser cutting the Team Heathrow design into a new segmented reflective tape.
Impressively, PULSAR® incorporated 17 different bespoke components to make up the final product, not including fabrics and accessories, with customisation being a key element in the collection. Working in an airport, wearers go through metal detectors daily and so the team of garment specialists at PULSAR® created the Heathrow Collection to be completely metal-free, sourcing YKK zips made from PET, which they had specially produced to match the Heathrow’s corporate purple.
Innovating with design-led solutions
PULSAR® consulted Heathrow Airport from the start. LHR flagged a safety issue with the maintenance teams suffering from cuts and scrapes when carrying out repair work, as cut-resistant oversleeves went unused, or didn’t fit. PULSAR® formulated a custom solution by carefully integrating high-quality cut-resistant materials into the sleeves of the polo shirts thereby increasing the protection for wearers.
The PULSAR® Heathrow Collection is distinguished by its design-led innovation and structure, with a layered system approach guaranteeing full protection for wearers regardless of weather conditions.
Manufactured from the PULSAR® Evolution fabric utilising a three-layer laminate technology, the garments have higher levels of water-resistance and breathability for wearers.
The workwear trousers feature a Teflon coating that gives exceptional resistance to water, oil, and dirt, keeping garments brighter and in in optimal condition for longer. All garments were equipped with 50 wash reflective tapes to increase the life expectance which in turn reduced the need for garments to be replaced so often.
01527 962012
Twitter @PULSAR_UK
DressBest Uniforms
DressBest Uniforms has been surpassing expectations with their cutting-edge, in-house design teams in Istanbul, Turkey since 1995.
Operating in over 60 countries for more than 25 years, DressBest’s design-led approach to creating stylised, functional uniforms has seen the brand clothe prestigious airlines with extravagant uniforms to be desired and admired.
From a domestic to an international success story
DressBest’s talent in fashion-forward design and textiles expertise saw the brand establish itself from a domestic success story into a globally acclaimed uniform manufacturer, trusted by leading international airlines including Turkish Airlines, Fly Dubai, Flynas, Ethiopian Airlines, Uzbekistan Airways and Celebi Aviation for major bespoke uniform projects.
The brand has a reputation for collaboration, with a proud example of working with the award-winning British fashion designer, Hussein Caglayan MBE, on the Cyprus Airways uniform collection, where he chose DressBest as the official manufacturer of the airline designs.
A vast technical understanding of textiles and uniforms
As a longstanding player in the worldwide corporatewear market, DressBest puts its vast, technical understanding of textiles to effective use by studying the aviation industry to deliver on specific requirements.
Airline uniforms require durability, functionality, and breathability in the choices of fabrics and trims with consideration for the climate in which they operate. DressBest’s long term partnerships with leading fabric manufacturers such as Altinyildiz, Yünsa and Can Tekstil, give the business a competitive edge with its high-quality sourcing operations. Continually innovating to give their clients choice, DressBest monitors trends in the textile industry with recent interests in pandemic-related antiviral garments, waterproofs, in addition to sustainable fabrics made with recycled fibres for a customisable and sustainable uniform program.
A wealth of expertise under one roof for quality service
DressBest’s inspired in-house manufacturing team employs the latest technologies to achieve shorter lead times, all whilst controlling costs and environmental impact to minimise the carbon footprint. Located in Turkey, the business holds the geographical advantages of nearshoring for clients in Europe and the Middle East.
Under one roof, DressBest hosts all departments of design, product development, production, and packaging to allow for efficient and effective quality control flow. Design teams are equipped with customised ERP CAD systems and 3D body scanning technology, to guarantee continuity for all repeat orders for quality and size. DressBest offers a complete service solution, from design to managing the supply to wearers, utilising their Uniform Management System database.
FlyDubai uniform blended the brand’s taste with DressBest’s quality
DressBest understands that the quality of its products can only find meaning when blended with customer tastes. Jilly Sims, the Senior Vice President of Inflight Services for flydubai, praised the brand’s uniform delivery for “successfully aligning the uniform with their brand values to help create a look for their customer-facing staff, which is not only stylish, but also comfortable, durable and cost-effective”.
The innovating fashion-inspired uniform manufacturer is equipped to deliver with its state-of-the-art production facilities that are ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 & SEDEX certified. Not only can DressBest deliver on-point uniform designs, but they also appreciate a high level of credibility thanks to its s scientifically based, yet practical demands, carrying the Hohenstein Quality Label.
+90 (0) 212 295 50 35
LinkedIn/dress-best-uniforms-&-corporate-wear
Incorporatewear
Incorporatewear enters 2022 with 25 years of trading under its belt, celebrating the successful supply of complex uniform solutions for long-standing, reputable brands in the UK and globally.
Despite the challenges bought by the pandemic, Incorporatewear worked in partnership with colleagues, clients, and suppliers to demonstrate tenacity, perseverance, and robustness. This commitment was recognised as ICW continued operations, achieving remarkable successes including its win of the PCIAW® Award, for the Best Managed Major Contract.
A history of enhancing airlines with bespoke uniform designs
ICW has a long history of designing to impress within the aviation industry and is well-positioned to understand the sector’s needs. Incorporatewear’s TUI Airlines uniform enhanced the brand with its emblematic blue represented throughout the blazers, hats, and ties.
Incorporatewear is famed for its 10-year partnership with Virgin Atlantic which witnessed the awe-inspiring collaboration with Vivienne Westwood and the iconic red uniform which stole the show for the PCIAW® Design of the Decade Award in 2019.
More recently, the Incorporatewear design team dressed Air Arabia, delivering bespoke uniform programs with a slick collection of branded garments in contrasting red, white, and grey to match Air Arabia’s image with a refined luxurious aesthetic.
Appreciating the need for sustainable uniforms in aviation
The Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recognises that aviation has been the ‘driver of economic, social and cultural development worldwide’, however, there exists an understandable dichotomy between the aviation sector and sustainability, an area of much focus for the Global Coalition for Sustainable Aviation.
As safety, comfort and a more premium experience become greater priorities for the consumer and the future of air travel, sustainability will be a focal point for the coming decade. ICW has been at the forefront in sustainable development of the corporatewear market, which will be exemplified in the mainstream for its uniform collection for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Further developments in sustainable action plans
Striving for maximum sustainable design in all future ICW uniform collections involves many factors, including location of manufacture, plus sourcing low-impact fibres, fabrics, threads, trims, and accessories, right through to design choices for end-of-life, considering disassembly and the opportunities for repurposing and recycling.
Sustainable concepts are not new to Incorporatewear, as they have been quietly providing uniforms manufactured with recycled yarns for over a decade with expanding use of REPREVE fibres made from recovered plastics from the oceans in their garments.
As Incorporatewear continues to design with the end in mind, they recognise that the simultaneous growth in demand for their UK manufacture is helping ICW and their clients achieve a reduction in their carbon footprint, whilst the delivery of goods using smarter logistics is one of their key climate initiatives for the next decade.
+44 (0) 1675 432 200
