China Airlines unveils new uniforms with bold red elements designed by master Tony Leung

▲ The new China Airlines uniforms feature bold red elements.

Reported and photographed by Huang Shiyuan / Taipei

China Airlines today (12th) unveiled its new uniforms, designed for the first time by Tony Leung, who has won 11 Golden Horse Awards for Artistic Costume Design and was nominated for Best Costume Design at the Oscars. He said this is his first time designing uniforms, calling it a quite fun attempt. The new uniforms continue China Airlines’ traditional cheongsam design while incorporating bold red elements. Leung explained that the overall design is primarily centered on the elegance of the 1950s, enhanced with modernity and functionality.

The new uniforms showcase contemporary design trends, using different color blocks in professionally proportioned arrangements to create visual highlights. The design retains the traditional cheongsam style while integrating modern fashion concepts and tailoring to better accentuate body lines. Both men’s and women’s uniforms appear upright and spirited. The garments emphasize functionality, facilitating easy movements such as raising arms or bending over, making work more efficient for crew members.




▲ China Airlines' new uniforms enlisted the help of designer Tony Leung this time.

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The concept of the new uniforms mainly includes four aspects: patchwork, tailored fit, Classic, Stylish, Sexy, and function-oriented design. Among them, the patchwork combines colors such as brown, gray, beige, and the corporate hues of red and blue. Leung mentioned that the patchwork design helps highlight body lines, especially the large red patch on the upper body, which can flatter the figure and give a more elegant appearance. The tailored fit is inspired by 1950s styling. Chen Ruixian, designer of China Airlines' 777 aircraft, noted that he is most impressed by Leung’s attention to detail, such as the large X-shaped cut on the back of the new uniform jackets, which creates a sleeker back profile.


▲ The new uniform jackets feature a large X-shaped cut on the back for a sleeker silhouette.

Classic is the third design concept, and for China Airlines, the classic is the cheongsam. Chen Ruixian said that when they first started brainstorming the uniforms, there was a moment when they considered abandoning the cheongsam element. But upon reflection, they felt that as an Eastern airline, they had the responsibility to introduce Eastern beauty to the world, so they ultimately retained the cheongsam element. So who to turn to for the design? Chen Ruixian thought of Tony Leung, who created numerous cheongsams for Maggie Cheung in the movie “In the Mood for Love,” and thus invited him to help with the design. Since he had never designed uniforms for a corporation before, Leung found it quite fun and agreed to design the new China Airlines uniforms. He also mentioned that designing costumes for films and designing uniforms for China Airlines aren’t all that different—the emphasis is on functionality, convenience in action, and freedom from constraint. And that leads to the fourth concept—function-oriented design.


▲ New uniform for cabin managers.


▲ New uniform for pursers.


▲ New uniform for China Airlines flight attendants.