Flight Attendant Uniforms Take the Runway in Major New Exhibit Opening April 25 in Seattle

The Museum of Flight’s new exhibition, Runway to Runway, is a delightful and insightful trip through the styles and stories of flight attendant uniforms. The exhibit opens April 25 with 100 items ranging from classic suits and skirts, to capes and go-go boots and onward to today’s thoughtful neoclassic styles.

Each uniform reflects the person who wore it, the purpose behind its design, and the responsibilities carried out while it was worn. The exhibit also includes dozens of hats, handbags and scarves designed to complete the flight attendant’s ensemble. Runway to Runway also pulls back the curtain on the illusion of style to glimpse the racial barriers, sexism and ignored workers’ rights that challenged flight attendants on every flight. The exhibit closes Jan. 18, 2027 and is free for Museum Members and with admission to the Museum.

Runway to Runway introduces specific flight attendants through their stories, snapshots and uniforms. Visitors will understand the first Black flight attendant for United Airlines, and one of the first Continental Airlines stewards, who had to keep smiling as passengers didn’t know what to make of a male flight attendant in 1978.

Runway to Runway shows the arc of past fashions and how designers respond to the flight attendant of today. As flight attendants started to become the face of the airlines, air carriers hired famous fashion designers from New York, Paris, Milan and Hollywood to create new styles for the cabin crews, which helped brand their in-flight service as a unique and desirable experience. Some were modest, others were mod. Jean Louis, Roxane of New York, Mario Armond Zamparelli, Valentino, Emillio Pucci and Edith Head made their mark on everything from uniforms to accessories with trending fabrics, vogue nouveau and bold colors to help the airlines stand out from one another.

The Runway to Runway Galleries

Uniforms
Runway to Runway displays 13 flight attendant uniforms that served on eight different airlines, with the majority of them designer apparel from the 1960s and 1970s. The gallery collection includes ensembles like Emilio Pucci’s mod pink creation with coordinated dress, pants, and umbrella for Braniff International Airways in 1971; the lively yellow and blue Hughes Airwest uniform from the early Seventies that includes a brilliant cape, princess cut dress and knee-high yellow go-go boots; and the iconic United Airlines uniform from 1968 designed by Jean Louis and known as “The Skimmer.”

Accessories

Bags and Purses
Airlines often provided flight attendants with special-issued suitcases, tote bags, and purses to match their uniforms. A selection of 11 distinctive bags in this collection include an Alaska Airlines carpet bag from 1966 that was part of its Golden Nugget Service inspired by 1890s fashion; a blue and yellow bag that was part of the new look for Hughes Airwest from 1971-1977 designed by Mario Armond Zamparelli; and a boldly patterned bag designed by Emilio Pucci for Braniff International Airways from 1966-1971.

Headwear
From yellow bucket hats and faux fur caps to futuristic, clear plastic helmets, hats offered a finishing touch to many iconic flight attendant uniforms. This collection displays 17 hats ranging from today back to a fetching design used by Western Air Express during the mid-1920s. Other headwear includes a Jean Louis designed faux fur cap worn with United Airlines’ all-season mix-and-match uniform collection from the early 1970s; a bright red hat designed by Yves Saint Laurent for Northwest Airlines and worn during the 1960s and early 1970s; and an extremely rare example of an Emilio Pucci clear plastic “RainDome” that was worn during Braniff’s famous “Air Strip” advertising campaign of the mid-1960s.

Scarves
Scarves allowed designers to compliment the uniforms with expressive patterns and compositions as individual works of art. A collection of 13 scarves shows how these functional designs are also suitable for framing. Examples include the multicolored geometric-patterned Hughes Airwest silk scarf from 1975; a 1984-85 Republic Airlines scarf with dark hues that subdue the optical effect of its linear patterns; and from 1975 a Pan American World Airways scarf that was part of a mix-and-match uniform designed by Academy Award-winning costumer Edith Head.

Interactive Displays

Visitors are able enhance their fashion sense with touchable fabrics, info kiosks and fun puzzles to unlock mysteries like the proper way to tie a scarf.

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