How not to design a work uniform

By Jon Kelly BBC News

Female rail staff are up in arms, refusing to wear "see-through" blouses on duty. But how can designers avoid imposing ugly, impractical uniforms on workers?

It is the final insult for many wage-slaves everywhere. Itchy nylon; fiddly clip-on ties; garish corporate branding - if any aspect of one's job can make it a trial of drudgery and alienation, it is surely the bad uniform.

Designed as it may be to eradicate individuality and project a harmonious, unified image of a company or organisation, few of us would, by definition, choose to don one of our own volition. That uncomfortable shirt or impractical hemline can make the clock's hands inch painfully slowly to 5pm.

Remember Philip Treacy and Anne Tyrrell's Tube uniforms? Enlarge Image

But design-conscious workers are in a militant mood. Nearly 500 blouses sent to female staff on the National Express London to Edinburgh rail route were returned after their union complained the garments were "too thin and too cheap", not to mention practically "see-through".

It's a sobering reminder for designers everywhere: however chic that outfit may look on the page, no matter how much it may be feted by one's peers come the next Milan Fashion Week, it still has to be worn whilst pushing a trolley-load of crisps and sandwiches past a carriage full of West Ham fans on the 2030 to King's Cross.

'Not listening'

For designer and former BBC Clothes Show presenter Jeff Banks, such considerations are a stock-in-trade. Having designed workwear for Barclays, Butlins, Abbey National and BAA, Banks believes that the perfect uniform is a marriage of practicality and corporate identity.

YOUR WORST UNIFORM Got a fashion howler from one of your previous jobs? Send us a picture to yourpics@bbc.co.uk And we'll feature the best of the worst

He says he will discuss every aspect of every brief with employees, making sure that - for instance - pregnant women and members of different ethnic and religious groups will not face any obstacles from his clothes.

As a result, Banks believes that not paying enough attention to those who will actually have to wear the garments is where many companies fall down.

"Not listening to the staff is the basic, fundamental mistake - they're the ones who actually know how to do the job, after all," he says. "You want to communicate a brand, but you don't want workers to feel uncomfortable in any way.

"British Airways staff look as though they work for a building society rather than an airline. For a while the London Underground tried to make its employees look as though they worked for some kind of French railway - thankfully, they got rid of those eventually."

As soon as I see the words 'designer does uniform', I groan Imogen FoxThe Guardian Staff return 'see-through' shirts

Following on from the trail blazed by Banks, a number of high-profile designers have been brought in by High Street brands to revamp their uniforms - with varying degrees of success.

In 2008, Bruce Oldfield's outfits for McDonald's female staff included a jaunty scarf which, while no doubt adding a frisson of Parisian hauteur to the fast food experience, probably made leaning over the barbecue sauce a precarious experience. Paul Smith's orange-hued attire for employees at the Tate must surely have led art lovers to question whether they had inadvertently strolled onto an easyJet flight on their way to the Cezanne exhibition.

And indeed, not every style pundit is a fan of meshing the worlds of high couture and honest labour. Imogen Fox, deputy fashion editor of the Guardian, believes the catwalk and the workplace should be kept firmly apart.

"As soon as I see the words 'designer does uniform', I groan," she says.

The man-made fibres, the neon glow... the uniform at its highest expression

"It's always going to look outdated. It's always going to look like it's trying too hard. Uniforms are meant to be functional - as soon as you get away from that, something is going to go badly wrong."

Indeed, many workwear manufacturers make a virtue of keeping it simple. Debbie Leon, Director of Fashionizer Ltd, which has designed garments for clients including London's Westfield shopping centre, says staff prefer natural, breathable fabrics and outfits that have been user-tested for practicality, to big-name labels.

"Trends in uniforms come and go, but it's the business of good designers to come up with fresh and creative designs that actually work in the real world," she adds.

It's advice that those tasked with draping the nation's workers would do well to heed. Especially if they do not wish to incur the ire of the ladies of the East Coast Main Line.

Got a fashion howler from one of your previous jobs? Send us a picture to yourpics@bbc.co.uk and we'll feature the best of the worst?

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