From June 30, 2008, Singapore Airlines male cabin crew will take on a fresh look, wearing a new uniform, which will complement the legendary sarong kebaya worn by the airline's female cabin crew.

The new male cabin crew uniform is the creation of veteran French fashion designer Christophe Galibert, artistic director of Balmain Uniformes. The fashion house was appointed for the redesign of the uniform in 2006.

Mr Galibert has also worked with the designer of the sarong kebaya, Mr Pierre Balmain, for more than 25 years.

Said Mr Galibert: "The entire Balmain team was thrilled to embark on the mission of designing the Singapore Airlines male cabin crew uniform and bringing to it our own international touch."

"In designing this new look, our main aim was to retain the legendary elegance of the Singapore Airlines male cabin crew but at the same time make it more consistent with the iconic creation of Mr Pierre Balmain's sarong kebaya. Our challenge was, therefore, to find a matching smartness and unique sophistication for the male crew uniform."

The new uniform comprises a single-breasted navy blue suit (jacket and trousers), sky blue shirt and striped tie. The tie colour differentiates the four ranks of crew.

SUIT - The navy blue jacket and trousers complement the colour worn by the majority of the female crew on board (blue).

SHIRT - The skyblue shirt blends in beautifully with the navy blue jacket and aptly reflects the colour of the sky.

TIE - The tie colour is the differentiating factor among the ranks and closely follows the kebaya colours of the female crew. In addition, the various colours of the stripes on each tie were carefully designed by Balmain to match the fine details of the sarong kebaya print.

• Blue - Flight Steward
• Green - Leading Steward
• Red - Chief Steward
• Purple - Inflight Supervisor

Said Mr Tan Pee Teck, Senior Vice President Cabin Crew, "The new uniform projects a smart and professional image and will instill a sense of pride in the crew. This is even more so since many of our crew members were themselves actively involved in the selection and fine-tuning of the design concept and colour scheme of the uniform."

Quick Facts:

• The current male crew uniform was designed by Lanvin in 1991.
• Singapore Airlines currently employs 7,375 cabin crew members, of which almost 40% are male.