The designer of Finnair's new uniforms has been chosen as Ritva-Liisa Pohjalainen, who is behind the well-known Finnish Ril's women's clothing brand. Pohjalainen participated in a competition organized by Finnair between several invited top Finnish designers. The quality of entries was exceptionally high and the scope of contributed ideas was refreshingly wide.
The starting point for the design of Finnair's new service uniforms was that the new image should be in line with the factors behind the success of the Finnair brand, especially freshness and "Finnishness", as well as in harmony with the planned new cabin appearance.
Ritva-Liisa Pohjalainen, known and awarded for the timeless elegance, clear lines and modern ideas of her designs, was judged to have achieved these aims most successfully. Her experience and the practical demands of service uniforms were considered by the judges in their choice.
"The strengths of Ritva-Liisa Pohjalainen's designs are regarded especially to be their adaptability and compatibility with the planned new appearance of Finnair aircraft passenger cabins as well as with the wider success factors," says Jarkko Konttinen, Head of Finnair's global marketing communications.
"In my competition design work, I truly immersed myself in Finnair's world and applied all my skills with all my professional ability," says Ritva-Liisa Pohjalainen. "It's an honour to be involved in the design of the new and modern visual image for a Finnish airline whose profile in the world at large is only going to rise."
Finnair plans to adopt the new-look uniforms in 2009 when the first new Airbus A330 aircraft join the fleet and a refreshed cabin look will be unveiled. Service uniforms are worn by about 4,000 Finnair staff, including all crew members and front-line service staff such as those at check-in.