In December 2016, Nigerian owned airliner, Arik Air will celebrate ten years offering service to Nigerians, and to celebrate this they are overhauling their entire brand, including their airline uniforms.
Airline uniforms are a most vital part of any airlines identity and international Airliners spend a lot of money to curate a look that best portrays the luxury of their brands, some going as far as hiring internationally renowned designers to create custom looks for them like Zac Posen’s collaboration with US airline Delta Air and Vivienne Westwood’s collaboration with Virgin Atlantic. But Arik Air has chosen to go about this through a more organic route and has appointed Ijade Egbin Consult, a longtime event co-ordinator who has worked with several pageants and fashion shows including Nokia Face of Africa (2003 – 2005) and The Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria pageant (1999 – 2004) to help them organize a reality style competition to find and groom a designer to design and mass produce their new uniforms.
Arik Air understands its unique opportunity to show Nigerian fashion on a global platform. It has already done this constitently through its in-flight magazine Wings, which featured many homegrown designers including Maki Oh, Tiffany Amber, IAMISIGO and Orange Culture. The Arik Designer Search will help expand that idea. With the single criterion that the new uniforms must distinctly embody and reflect Nigerian culture and the fantastic deal of a three year partnership with the eventual winner of the Arik Air Designer Search, its an opportunity every emerging designer needs to explore.
Further information about this will be updated at The Other Style as they are released. Get your sketchpads people and start sketching.