Shaping the Asian Spirit

Eddie Lau is best known for his work in the fields of fashion design, haute couture and image design for pop stars, but he also gained recognition among international businesses for his uniform designs. Eddie designed uniforms for Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (Cathay Pacific) for the first time in 1999. Based on the company’s slogan ‘The Heart of Asia’, red was adopted as the dominant colour, while the raised collar coincided with the logo of a plane taking off, ideas that met with an enthusiastic response from the client. The designs were renewed in 2004. Eddie again designed a new uniform for Cathay Pacific in 2011. While retaining the basic elements from the earlier designs, rose red representing love was chosen for the first time for the female flight attendant’s uniform. Purple was replaced by champagne and black as the other dominant colours. The slit at the front of the old skirts was swapped for two slits at the back to allow the flight attendants to move more comfortably while working. The olive green Chinese tunic coat designed for the men’s uniform was truly refreshing.

Eddie has also designed the new uniform for Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Limited (Dragonair) in 2013. While the uniforms reflect Dragonair’s close connection with Cathay Pacific, they are also unique in their own right thanks to Eddie’s ingenious creativity. Not only the uniforms retain the one-piece design in dark tone, the dragon logo had also been incorporated into the cut of the dress and the collar design of the jacket.