There is more to the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) than just showing your tickets and your passport, going through the security checkpoints, schlepping around with your oversized carry-on luggage, and trying to figure out what to do with the mandatory three hours pre-departure. Eureka! The international terminal’s SFO Museum has solved this problem by presenting a fabulous historic exhibit called ‘’Fashion In Flight: A History of Airline Uniform Design’’ for you to view, enjoy and learn about the famous fashion designers who were commissioned by various airlines to add their touch of glamour, elegance, sophistication, and pizzazz in outfitting the crews.

This fascinating exhibit features seventy female airline uniform ensembles and additional accessories that date from 1930 to the present time. It chronicles the evolution of uniform design from their in-house origins of the pre-war era to the renowned couturiers and their fashion ateliers which created and produced extraordinary collections for airlines during the 1950s, to the contemporary styles of today. From the influences of Paris, New York, and Hollywood, jet-set chic has inspired the designers to keep the airline fashions trendy and appealing to millions of travelers throughout the world.

Over thirty designers and fashion houses are represented in the exhibition. These include Cristóbal Balenciaga, Pierre Balmain, Bill Blass, Pierre Cardin, Oleg Cassini, Christian Dior, Halston, Christian Lacroix, Ralph Lauren, Hanae Mori, Emilio Pucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and Vivienne Westwood.

Their long list of clients includes Aeroméxico, Air France, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Pan American World Airways, United Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic.

According to the museum’s press release, ‘’Airline uniform occupies a unique place in the history of women’s wear. For more than eighty-five years, the airlines’ passenger-service and safety professionals – ​variably called stewardess, hostess, and flight attendant – ​have been dressed in outfits designed to signify a distinct role in the workplace, project the identity of their employer, and reflect prevailing fashions of the times. These often conflicting demands of singularity, diversity, and conformity have created a distinct garment type, one that has penetrated deeply into the social conscience of popular culture while providing fashion designers with remarkable challenges and creative opportunities.’’

The majority of the uniforms in the exhibition were selected from the permanent collection at the SFO Museum. Additional uniforms, accessories, and images have generously been made available by lenders including Aeroméxico, Air France, American Airlines C. R. Smith Museum, Delta Flight Museum, Flight Path Learning Center & Museum, Frontiers of Flight Museum LAX, The Museum of Flight, NWA History Centre, Qantas Heritage Collection, The University of Texas at Dallas, United Airlines Archive, Virgin Atlantic Airways, and other private sources.

Next time you fly out of the San Francisco International Terminal, spend some enriching quality time viewing the SFO Museum’s historic Fashion In Flight exhibit, on view from June 16, 2016 to January 8, 2017, as well as the many other impressive and interesting exhibits that the SFO Museum curates on a regular basis. The exhibits are displayed at the pre-security area of the International Terminal Main Hall and Aviation Museum & Library.

The Aviation Museum and Library are open from 10:00 a. m. to 4:30 p. m. daily, closed holidays and during special events.

The Main Hall galleries are always open. For more information visit www.sfomuseum.org or call 650–821–6700. Admission is free.

Lina Broydo immigrated from Russia, then the Soviet Union, to Israel where she was educated and got married. After working at the University in Birmingham, England she and her husband immigrated to the United States. She lives in Los Altos Hills, CA and writes about travel, art, style, entertainment, and sports. She hardly cooks or bakes, with no borsch or piroshky on her home cooking menu. Therefore, she makes reservations and enjoys dining out, mostly sushi.

By Lina Broydo