Eurostar unveils gender-neutral uniform for staff
Eurostar has unveiled its first ever gender-neutral uniform, introducing a collection featuring skirts, trousers and Dr. Martens boots.
The new staff apparel range, unveiled at Eurostar’s Gare Du Nord terminal in Paris on Tuesday, features more than 50 items including graffiti-print neckerchiefs and replaces a uniform introduced more than a decade ago.
Designed by Emmanuelle Plescoff, who previously worked under French designer Christian Lacroix, the collection is “interchangeable and made to fit all genders, body types, and personal styles, empowering staff to express their individuality,” Eurostar said.
Gwendoline Cazenave, chief executive, called it “chic, elegant and iconic”.
The move to gender neutral clothes follows the scrapping in 2022 of “gendered uniforms” by Virgin Atlantic.
When they were first introduced, the airline said it would allow staff to “wear the clothing that expresses how they identify or present themselves,” while making makeup optional and allowing crew to sport visible tattoos.
Virgin Atlantic encouraged staff to ‘be their true selves at work’ when it released its new uniform – PinPep
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group is aiming to compete with Eurostar from 2030 as Britain opens up the Channel Tunnel to a second operator.
A submission on the scheme said the service would be “innovative, bold and unmistakably Virgin.”
Eurostar unveiled its new uniform during Paris’s autumn fashion week and plans to introduce it among all 2,600 train and station staff immediately.
Eurostar said the new uniform was ‘interchangeable and made to fit all genders, body types, and personal styles’ – Pierre Caudevelle
It said the design combines fashion elements from its four main markets, including French “navy blue monochrome and simple cuts,” a neckerchief inspired by street art from Brussels and Amsterdam, and green Dr. Martens, described as a “British icon of self-expression.”
Staff will also be able to choose from shoes or punk-era eight-hole boots.
The uniform took two and a half years to create following consultation with 80 employees on practical requirements, which led to the use of stretchy sports-inspired fabrics.
Eurostar said its old uniforms will be recycled into products such as mattresses and hanging basket liners.
The new collection will be the fourth in the firm’s history and replaces one designed by London-based Jermyn Street Design and introduced in 2014.
The company, which is controlled by French state railway SNCF, attracted 19.5 million passengers last year and aims to increase the total to 30 million by the end of the decade.
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