Cabin crew through the ages: Showcasing a lifetime of Iberia's uniforms

ONCE you're settled in your seat, belted in and counting the minutes until that moment you can pop your tray down, go to the loo and switch the reading light on – with one eye always on the qui vive for the food trolley – you probably only notice cabin crew if you need to call on them. 

And that's not going to be very often in 'tourist class', so your main interaction post-takeoff is likely to be when buying snacks.

Depending upon how you feel about airline food, you might not even notice them when they bring the obligatory trays round if you're pretending to be asleep to avoid it – or the reverse, watching your neighbouring passenger, hawk-like, to see if they do likewise and you can pinch their tray for a double ration.

Anyone who lives in Spain but was born somewhere else, or who has ever taken a holiday somewhere they cannot feasibly get to by car or train, is in permanent debt to these hard-working, ever-smiling attendants who, whilst they may love their job, would probably happily change places with you – particularly if your flight is heading to the Caribbean.

After all, without them, we wouldn't be able to see our family and friends from the 'old country', or discover new parts of the world.

But it's very unlikely you've ever taken any notice of their uniforms. For most of us, they're just like wallpaper – and, in many cases, are designed with exactly that in mind. 

I can't believe we used to wear that stuff!

If you could time-travel, it would be fascinating to see what everyone, not just those who work in uniform, wore in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and so on – or, if you remember the fashions the first time around, it's always a combination of amusing, fondly nostalgic, and cringeworthy to see pictures of what we really thought looked hip and trendy way back in our past lives. 

We don't notice what's 'normal' at a time when it is, in fact, 'normal', but once it becomes 'out of date', harsh reality about our historic wardrobe disasters hits us with a sound thwack when we come across visual reminders.

After all, unborn generations will one day look at pictures of us now and say, “wow, the 2020s really were the decade fashion forgot!”

(Let's hope not, although it's almost guaranteed, if we're honest).

Iberia's first transatlantic flights created new jobs

Spain's main national airline Iberia has celebrated its 95th anniversary year by auctioning off replicas of its different cabin crew uniform throughout the decades.

An exhibition of outfits reflecting every iconic trend from the post-war era onwards was set up recently at the Espacio Iberia in central Madrid.

Although Iberia was founded in 1927, the figure of an air hostess – they were nearly always women until recent years – did not appear for the company until 1946, when it launched its first transatlantic flight route, from Madrid to Buenos Aires (Argentina).

Even now, the journey takes around 12 hours, and with much less sophisticated flying technology, the trip was longer and more exhausting still 76 years ago – for that reason, staff were needed on board to attend to passengers cramped in seats for the best part of a day, and to serve them meals.

Uniforms were introduced to ensure the air hostesses could be distinguished from passengers who had got up and were wandering around, to avoid confusion.

1946: Military-inspired shirts with skirts

Back then, cabin crew outfits were military-inspired, with a lumberjack-style shirt and skirt and numerous pockets, made from old parachute fabric.

This was chosen because it was hard-wearing, but was, naturally, extremely uncomfortable due to its rigid texture.

Summer uniforms were white and winter ones were navy-blue, with a military hat to match.

Iberia was something of a pioneer in terms of its cabin crew, with the first male taken on for the job as early as 1947 – until relatively recently, airlines would seek women, who would have to be a certain height, slim, attractive, and single, and their outfits would normally involve short skirts, high heels and tight-fitting dresses.

Fernando Castillo, a waiter at the Ritz in Madrid, was Spain's, and Iberia's, first 'air host'.

1954-1967: Pedro Rodríguez's navy-blue suit

A new uniform came in 1954, created by the designer en vogue of the moment – Pedro Rodríguez, from Valencia – and was a navy-blue skirt suit, still loosely following the 'military' style, but closer to what women would wear if they worked in offices, and included a jacket for extra warmth.

Rodríguez was then asked to design a new Iberia uniform in 1962, and this time, he dropped the military look altogether and went for a more feminine cut, with a nod to the burgeoning hippie movement – lighter in colour, looser and more casual, and with a skull-cap type of hat to replace the Armed Forces-like felt flat cap.

1968-1971: Queen Letizia's wedding-dress designer, Manuel Pertegaz, goes 'Swinging Sixties'

Clothing trends changed rapidly throughout the 1960s, and as Pedro Rodríguez had hung up his needle and thread by 1966, when Iberia sought to revamp its uniform two years later, Teruel-born designer Manuel Pertegaz was commissioned.

It would be the Pertegaz fashion house which, 36 years later, would design the wedding dress for TVE news reporter Letizia Ortiz for her nuptials with Prince Felipe of Asturias – now King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain.

Manuel Pertegaz gave the Iberia gear a complete overhaul: The traditional navy-blue, common on many airlines at the time, became burgundy, with a skirt in this colour, gloves and handbags and knee-high boots to match, a red jacket and a very-'60s red poncho-style coat for warmth when needed, a burgundy skull cap and a black hood over it.

Those in direct contact with passengers wore a blue dress, a hand's width above mid-knee, tunic-like but with short sleeves, a rounded neckline, and frills in the same colour and material, giving it a typical 'Andalucía' look that conjured up images of flamenco dancers tapping their feet to gypsy guitarists.

Close-woven fishnet tights and black court shoes or knee-high boots in navy-blue leather were included in what was the most radically mould-breaking of Iberia's uniforms to date, although it was not in use for very long.

Whether or not they approved of the styles and colours, air hostesses would have appreciated the added comfort that came with Pertegaz's creations: Each and every piece was hand-created in his studio and made to measure for its individual wearer.

1972-1986: Elio Berhanyer, from navy-blue 'police' to beige cotton frocks

The third fashion designer commissioned for Iberia's uniforms was Andalucía-based Elio Berhanyer, who created three different ones, starting in 1972.

His brief was to design something classical, which would not become dated too quickly, and which would be suitable for all countries to which Iberia flew regularly, as well as every season of the year.

Berhanyer's début uniform had a very 'police' look about it, especially the hats – high-peaked, with a brim, and a huge silver button on the front which resembled a miner's headlamp – and the same giant buttons were used for the double-breasted cropped jacket, made from dense wool in blue-black and with a high-waisted, knee-length, A-line skirt to match, plus leather gloves and large, semi-circular shoulder bags.

Subtle changes, such as the silk scarves in geometrical patterns in navy-blue, bright yellow, grey and green, were made to differentiate ground staff from cabin crew, and short-haul from transatlantic air stewards.

Five years later, another radical revamp saw the colour change to dark beige, the jacket extended to hip-length, and a brown-and-white chequered-patterned dress with a shirt collar and flowing skirt underneath it. 

Berhanyer revived the burgundy leather gloves, handbag and pork-pie hat, and added a scarf tied in a giant bow in rainbow stripes of red, brown, burgundy, orange, royal blue, mustard yellow and pale yellow.

His 1983 Iberia uniform returned to the more demure style of a decade ago, with a flowing, knee-length skirt and matching suit jacket, single-breasted and with a low-cut lapel, in royal blue with dark-blue edging, blue-and-white-patterned short-sleeved shirts, and belted-in loose cotton dresses in the same pattern, in line with the general fashion in the first half of the 1980s.

Ground staff wore a blue with a slightly more turquoise tone to differentiate them from cabin crew.

Red and yellow collar and hem for dresses and shirts, and for the lining of the jacket, were a nod to the national flag.

1987-2004: Alfredo Caral, demure and double-breasted...and first trousers for women

One of the longest-lasting uniforms was that designed by Madrid-born, Murcia-based designer Alfredo Caral, in 1987, which remained unchanged until 2005.

He returned to the sombre, navy-blue suit with a high-necked double-breasted jacket and white shirt as seen in Pedro Rodríguez's earliest designs, but to enable customers to tell ground staff and technical staff from cabin crew, one team wore fuschia-pink jackets and another wore the dark blue but with yellow skirts.

Trousers, for both sexes, were introduced for the first time.

2005-2020: Adolfo Domínguez, from high-street staple to simple-cut V-necks

So far, the most long-standing of all Iberia's uniforms has been the one created by prolific national designer Adolfo Domínguez, whose mid-upper range prêt-à-porter gear can be found on almost every high street in large towns.

Simple tailoring, with a narrow V-neck for the jacket, a choice of skirts or trousers for the women, and white or red open-collar shirts, in dark navy, are what you will have seen staff wearing if you have flown with Iberia any time since 2005 until 2020, when the first-ever female designer was commissioned to create their latest wardrobe.

2020 to date: Teresa Helbig opts for catwalk elegance and comfort

Catalunya-born Teresa Helbig has kept the colour and cut of Adolfo Domínguez's version, adorning the pockets and lapel with a red-and-yellow stripe pattern, but widening the V-neck on the jacket, which is now hip-length with a nipped-in waist.

Collarless off-white blouses go underneath, and women can choose between knee-length pencil skirts or straight-cut trousers, or a dress which is tunic-like but with an hourglass waist, rounded neckline and three-quarter sleeves.

Bright red handbags complete the look, and for men, theirs is a typical tailored suit with a white shirt and a navy-blue tie adorned with the Spanish flag colours.

Woolly scarves, silk scarves, gloves and coats in the same designs accompany the main uniform, which has been described as modern, elegant and flattering.

Nearly 7,000 employees at Iberia tried on their new gear for the first time last month, and are now airing it on all flights.