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 Language Tips > 2001
Updated: 2001-06-11 01:00
Will Dollies with Trolleys Take to the Skies? (2001/06/11)
英航空姐性感制服引起轩然大波 (2001/06/11)

"Place your seat backs forward, your trays in their upright position … and keep your hands off my tail."

Standard flight attendant patter? Not yet, but it could be next year, at least over the Atlantic, as British Airways flight staff get fitted for new uniforms from a glamorous young designer better known for dressing starlets in skimpy, sparkly couture.

Designer Julien MacDonald, recently tapped as artistic director for the French fashion house of Givenchy, has been commissioned by the national carrier to revamp its staff uniforms. The several hundred-thousand dollar deal will put his uniforms on some 32,000 airline representatives by 2002.

Although MacDonald has not yet gone public with his planned design, he says he has a 21st Century concept in mind. The uniforms will have "the MacDonald stamp; a tight waist and sharp silhouette. The main color will be navy and I'll be using lots of stretch material, which helps define the body."

Macdonald explained his approach: "I want to bring glamour back to travel. That's what it's all about. The girls will look sexy and the men will look like strong heroes. They'll be the envy of other airlines."

It's not the first time big-name designers have flown their fashions. Oleg Cassini did up TWA uniforms as far back as the 1950s. In the 1960s, Pierre Balmain designed a sarong-style Singapore Airlines uniform. And in the 1970s, Valentino created a hot pants outfit for TWA.

But MacDonald's plans to bring the catwalk to the plane cabin are hitting turbulence, especially from the union that represents flight attendants.

"Our members should not be dressed as sex objects," says a spokesman from the Transport and General Workers' Union, which has 44,000 members in the civil air transport section. "Some female stewards have voiced concern that a too-revealing uniform would be inappropriate and could lead to an increase in cases of harassment and 'air-rage' incidents."

The union argues its members should be dressed in smart, functional and comfortable outfits. "For us the cabin crew are safety professionals, not marketing tools for British Airways," said the spokesman. "Female stewards are not dollies with trolleys."

British Airways is taking the criticism in stride, arguing that MacDonald's intentions have been misunderstood.

"In the world of fashion sexy is actually glamorous," Spokeswoman Camilla Wrey told ABCNEWS.com. "Glamorous is great and if the staff feel confident every day they come to work then they are able to offer the best level of customer service. We don't intend to turn them into sex objects."

Wrey added that the unions will be involved until the final design decision is made and that the staff reaction so far has been very positive.

The flight attendant has served as a kind of ambassador for the airlines since the 1950s, notes Keith Lovegrove, author of Airline. Lovegrove says that a glamourous look can help attract customers and increase airline ticket sales, citing the dramatic jump in customer base for Southwest Airlines in the early 1970s, when it dressed its flight attendants in high white leather boots and hot pants.

But fashion can go terribly wrong too, adds the author. An example? The outfits worn by Denim Air flight attendants in the '70s, made up of neck-to-toe denim, denim shirt, denim trousers and bright red necktie with the top button of the shirt left undone to give a casual appearance.

Concluded Lovegrove: "In the end the stewardess must have authority. If she looks right then one glance from her will make a grown man or woman sit down and belt up. If MacDonald does his job properly then this will be enforced."

(Agencies)

"请将您的坐椅靠背调整到垂直,将您的托盘放正 ......不要摸我的屁股。"

这是笑容可掬、彬彬有礼的空姐招呼乘客的语言吗?现在还不是,或许明年你就可以在英航的飞机上听到这样的招呼,至少在英航的大西洋航线上是这样。知道吗,英国航空公司的空姐们正在试穿由魅力四射的时装设计师朱利安-麦克唐纳设计的带尾巴的新制服。而这位设计师最拿手的就是为刚露头角的年轻女演员设计外露、耀眼的服装。

朱利安-麦克唐纳最近刚被法国纪梵奇时装屋选中成为他们的艺术指导,又受英航之托,重新设计这家航空公司的制服。为此,英航将支付数十万美元的酬劳,到2002年,32,000名英航员工代表将身着由他设计的新制服。

麦克唐纳虽然还没有公开自己的设计计划,不过他表示21世纪的设计理念已经成竹在胸。制服将体现出"麦克唐纳标牌:束腰,轮廓突出,主色调为海军蓝,并将大量使用有弹性的布料,从而突出优雅的身材。"

麦克唐纳对自己的想法解释道:"我要把魅力带到您的旅行途中,这就是我的设计宗旨。姑娘们看上去会非常性感,小伙子们看上去颇具英雄气概。英航的制服将成为其他航空公司羡慕的对象。"

大牌服装设计师为航空公司设计制服已经不是第一次了。上个世纪五十年代,服装大师卡西尼就为美国环球航空公司设计过制服;六十年代,皮埃尔-巴尔梅为新加坡航空公司设计了具有马来群岛风格的围裙式制服;到七十年代,瓦伦天奴又为环球航空公司设计了短裤式的服装。

不过麦克唐纳这次准备把机舱变成时装展示台的计划确实引起轩然大波,尤其是代表机上服务人员的工会对此持有异议。

运输业工会一发言人称:"我们的成员不能被装扮成展示性感的工具。有些机上女服务人员已经表示,过于暴露的制服是不合适的,会增加骚扰事件的发生,容易造成乘客情绪冲动。"该工会包括民航系统的44,000名成员,

工会认为其成员的外装的特点应该是潇洒、实用和舒服并重。该发言人还说:"我们的机组成员是确保旅行安全的人员,而不是英航开拓市场的工具。空姐不是只会推手推车的头脑简单、衣着性感的洋娃娃。"

英航对这些批评应付自如,辩解说麦克唐纳的初衷被误解了。

英航发言人卡米拉-莱在接受美国广播公司新闻在线采访时说:"对时装业而言,性感是魅力的表现。魅力是神奇的:如果空姐每天工作时感觉非常自信的话,她们就一定会给乘客提供最好的服务。我们并不是要把她们打扮成展示性感的工具。"

莱补充说工会将参与决定最终的设计样本,他还说目前员工对公司的决定,反应是积极的。

英航创始人凯茨-拉伍格罗夫解释说,自20世纪50年代以来,空姐一直担负着航空公司形象大使的角色。拉伍格罗夫称富有魅力的形象有助于吸引顾客并提高机票的销售额。他还引用了20世纪70年代早期西南航空公司成功的范例。当时这家公司的空姐身着短裤,脚穿白色的长筒皮靴,结果吸引了大批乘客。

拉伍格罗夫补充说,时装的引入也可能起到相反的作用。最典型的莫过于戴尼姆航空公司空姐20世纪70年代的制服。这种服装从上到下都是由粗斜纹棉布制成的,棉布衬衫,棉布裤子,配以色调鲜明的红色领带,衬衫的最上面一粒纽扣总是敞开着,给人一种非常不严肃的印象。

最后,拉伍格罗夫的结论是:"空姐自身要有威信。只要她看上去作风正派,一个眼神就会让乘客坐好并系好安全带。如果麦克唐纳设计不出偏差的话,他的设计将被英航采用。"

(中国日报网站译)

 
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