Jets game day action

Last season, the Jets Flight Crew debuted their new uniforms, designed by Marc Ecko. Freelance Art Director/Graphic Designer Nick Corey was involved in the process and explained it this way:

Marc was approached by the New York Jets to re-interpret and redesign the New York Jets Flight Crew uniforms. The concept was simply to pay homage to vintage air travel while keeping it fresh and new (Amelia Earhart x Gwen Stefani). I worked closely with Malia Sias to create a warm and cold weather uniform. We were also asked to art direct and shoot the new press photos for the 2008 squad.

Marc, Nick, Malia, and Flight Crew Director Denise Garvey put their heads together and debuted this sassy new look last fall. Click here for more photos and info about the designs.

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Unfortunately, the costumes, as unique and cute as they were, were more conducive to personal appearances than game day performances. It looked like the Jets would have to go back to the drawing board on this one.

Yesterday, I found a set of photos from a recent Jets home game on Flickr. (Click here to view). It looks the Jets made a few design changes, did some useablity testing, and came back with something new for 2009. Ta-da!

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I have my own theories about how this developed. One of the things that made last year’s unis complicated was the plethora of accessories. With the hat, belt, sunglasses, collar, scarf, cuffs, and gloves, there was a lot going on. They pared all of that down this time around. Basically, the only thing that stayed the same is the black button-front vest.

1. The first thing they did was ditch the hats. Those disappeared, I believe, after the first home game last year. NFL cheerleaders toss their hair a lot. Even an army-inspired garrison cap and a fist full of hairpins couldn’t withstand that kind of action.

2. The scarf had to go too. I bet that thing could whip a girl senseless by halftime on windy days.

3. Without the scarf, the collar didn’t make much sense. I suppose they could have gone with bow ties…
Nah. toss the collars.

4. Interestingly, although they scrapped the collar, they kept the cuffs and cufflinks, and added some extra bling for good measure.

5. They changed the white under-top. I don’t know why. Maybe it was uncomfortable. Maybe they had to find somewhere else to put the flight crew wings, now that the hat has gone the way of the dinosaur.
(I’ll tell you what, though. Every time I catch a glimpse of this top, for a second I think it says “WOW” across the front in fancy gold letters.)

6. They definitely had to address the skirt/bloomers situation. That skirt must have ridden up something awful last year, especially with the bloomers underneath. The new skirt has more stretch and regular green trunks underneath. They also added a couple of slits for freedom of movement. Well done!

7. They also made a few other miscellaneous changes. They fancied-up the belt and belt buckle and switched from black boots to white. There’s no sign of the sunglasses and gloves.

So….in short, they traded a bit of the WWII stewardess whimsy for something a bit more practical. What do you guys think?

It remains to be seen what – if anything – they’ve done to the jumpsuits they wore last winter. I am quite fond of the jumpsuits, so hopefully those haven’t changed much.