Delta taps L.A. designer for makeover

Richard Tyler, one of L.A.’s most accomplished fashion designers, has been chosen to give Delta Airlines’ 35,000 employees a new look. Tyler will create new uniforms to be rolled out in 2006, when existing uniforms will be retired after having been in service for five years.

“From the first flight I took with my mom when I was 13,” Tyler said, “it’s been stuck in my head how chic stewardesses looked in those suits with great shoulders and hats on the side of their heads. But it’s gotten away from that. The Delta people want to bring that glamour back.”

The Australian-born Tyler, 56, is best known for sharp tailoring and elegant eveningwear for men and women. He is a red carpet favorite whose designs have been worn by Jamie Lee Curtis, Rachel Griffiths, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Faith Hill, Pierce Brosnan and Patrick Stewart.

Other designers recently tapped to sass up airline uniforms include Christian Lacroix for Air France and Julian Macdonald for British Airways.