April 13, 2007

Design in the air

From stylish adverts to designer stewardess uniforms, the Airworld exhibition celebrates the aesthetics of air travel. We bring you an exclusive preview from the Six Cities design festival in Glasgow.

Image from the Airworld exhibition — In the 1970s the traditional uniform made a comeback with tailoring used by many airlines, as seen in this summer collection for KLM from 1971. Photograph: Airworld

Image from the Airworld exhibition — For many years Air France was the world's largest airline and would frequently reflect its dominant position in its advertising posters, as in this example from 1939. Photograph: Gerard Alexandre/Airworld

Image from the Airworld exhibition — Emilio Pucci was brought in to design the stewardesses' uniforms for Braniff International in 1965. Pucci threw out all preconceptions of the traditional structure and created a high-fashion collection consisting of dresses and trademark print silk scarves. Photograph: Emilio Pucci/Airworld exhibition

Image from the Airworld exhibition — Airline poster campaigns typically featured designs showing people dressed in costumes of their country. A few exceptions to this norm were those produced by Donald Brun for Swiss Air in 1958. Photograph: Donald Brun/Airworld

Image from the Airworld exhibition — Bucking the 1970s trend for severe, tailored uniforms that responded to the rise in feminism, the mini-skirted stewardesses on South West Airlines remained steadfastly in 1960s sex-object mode. Photograph: Airworld

Image from Airworld exhibition — An Air France poster created by the graphic artist Perceval for their 1948 campaign. The airline's contemporary logo is depicted in the rotating propeller blade. Photograph: Atelier Perceval/Airworld exhibition

Image from the Airworld exhibition — Rolf Erik Bruun's design for Finnair in 1959 is a bold graphic print promoting Finland's strengths, a land rich in fish. Photograph: Rolf Erik Bruun/Airworld

Image from the Airworld exhibition — The Boeing 707, one of the most successful aircraft of the 1950s, was introduced in 1954. This aircraft brochure highlights the glamour associated with air travel at that time. Photograph: Boeing/Airworld

Image from the Airworld exibition — In the years after the second world war, the use of aircraft on advertising posters reached its height. At first the illustrations were merely drawings, but by the late 1950s colour photography became dominant as in this 1956 example for Swiss Air from Kurt Wirth. Photograph: Kurt Wirth/Airworld

Image from the Airworld exhibition — A giraffe's head features at the centre of this Air France poster from 1956. It is made up of countless national flags reaching up to a plane draped in the French colours. Photograph: Raymond Savingnac/Airworld

Image from the Airworld exhibition — This striking image of a traditional African mask was used to promote Swiss Air's service to Africa in 1956. Photograph: Manfred Bingler/Airworld

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