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Rebecca Vallance is taking to the skies.
The Australian womenswear designer, best known for her accessible luxury partywear, has been appointed by Australia’s national airline Qantas to design new uniforms for its 17,500-plus employees. She will succeed fellow Aussie designer Martin Grant, who has held the position for 13 years. Qantas has a long history of appointing fashion designers to reimagine its uniforms for modern times, including Yves Saint Laurent and Emilio Pucci. “It’s a huge honour, and a great responsibility,” says Vallance.
The appointment brings numerous new challenges: it will mark her first foray into designing menswear, and there will be differences in the design process generally — with functionality front of mind. Sustainability will also likely be higher up the agenda than it has been for previous Qantas designers, given our collective awareness of the damage done by any form of mass clothing production has grown over the past decade; in practice, this will mean exploring lower-impact materials and designing with the garments’ end of life in mind, Vallance says.
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On the flip side, the Qantas role will bring unparalleled visibility and exposure to her eponymous brand at a time when it is expanding globally. Others have spied the opportunity: in April, London Fashion Week regular Emilia Wickstead presented her new uniforms for Air New Zealand; that same month, Air France announced that French designer Simon Porte Jacquemus will design new pyjamas for its first-class passengers.
And despite her partywear pedigree, Vallance’s appointment is not as unlikely as it may at first seem: she has always emphasised wearability and comfort in her designs; she has experience with tailoring (often with a masculine slant); and her own brand has expanded into categories like workwear and denim.
Here, she shares what attracted her to the role, and how she plans to approach it (answers have been edited for brevity).
Vogue: Congratulations on the appointment! When did conversations with Qantas begin?
December last year. It’s been a long process to get here — it’s something that I have taken very seriously — but it’s been fun. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and feels like a big responsibility.
Vogue: What’s the scope of the role?
It’s major: I’m designing for cabin crew, pilots, mechanics, everyone you see at Qantas. Each has different needs. The pilots, for example, are flying Sydney to New York or Perth to Rome direct. Those are 20-hour flights. So the garments need to be functional and really well thought out. I’m starting with the cabin crew, then moving through the rest.
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Vogue: How are you preparing for it?
I’ve been deep-diving into the staff — how they move, what they need. It’s not like designing a normal collection. These garments have to withstand bending, lifting bags, and long flights. I’ve been watching how they move in their current uniforms for months (I fly a lot). Fashion affects how you feel every day: if you feel good in your outfit, you’ll have a better day. I want Qantas staff to feel confident, empowered, comfortable — and proud, because they represent Australia globally.
Vogue: So every time you’ve travelled, it’s been market research?
Absolutely. Qantas has also done a big body of work with staff about what they want. I’m good at designing to a brief.
Vogue: How much creative freedom will you have?
If you look through Qantas uniforms of the past, each designer made their mark. Each uniform reflected its era, from the 1920s onwards. I’ll keep it true to Qantas, but do it in my own way. Martin Grant did a fantastic job; his uniform lasted 10-15 years. I hope mine will too, but in my own way. It needs to be timeless, something that looks good on everyone. Even in my mainline collections, I aim for timelessness.
Vogue: To what extent does your experience with your own label help here?
We do beautiful tailoring and dresses, but I’m a stickler for comfort. Everything has to feel good. I try every piece on myself in fittings, which drives the team crazy! For uniforms, which are worn for such long hours, comfort is even more important. I’ll be developing the fabrics from scratch.
Vogue: Why do you think airlines bring in fashion designers rather than workwear suppliers?
For premium airlines, it’s about the whole experience: service, meals, uniforms. The second you walk into check-in and see the staff, it’s part of the luxury journey. And with 17,500 employees, you can’t get it wrong — so design expertise is essential.
Vogue: How are you thinking about sustainability?
It was part of the pitching process. There are a lot of things that I want to do with it, but I have to get into [the job] first. It’s so important — not only in terms of the design process with the fabrics I use, but also what happens to the uniforms at the end of their life. I have an idea for how to repurpose them at the end, but I can’t say more yet.
Vogue: What else is happening with your brand?
We’re opening our 10th store in two weeks, and we’ll be at 11 by October. We’re also launching a modest dressing capsule in December — the Middle East is a huge growth market. Global expansion is a key priority: Australia is 35 per cent of our business; international is 65 per cent. The visibility that comes with designing for Qantas can only help.
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