Qantas has unveiled a new uniform for its 12,600 cabin and ground staff with a sophisticated, fresh look from celebrated Australian fashion designer, Martin Grant.

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Deep black and Qantas red are the hero colours of the airline's new uniform, unveiled this morning.

Immaculate suiting dominates the range with sharp, single breasted blazers and slim leg trousers for men off-set with white shirts and coloured ties.

Ground crew have been given the option of shorts, light weight wool vests and short-sleeved shirts.

Female crew are the real winners with a uniform that allows versatility. There are black shift dresses with splashes of red and cerise pink and slim line black belts. Black pencil skirts and shell tops, slim leg trousers and neck scarves in pink and red, with black blazer, also feature.

Miranda Kerr opened the show to reveal the new range in a classic navy trench coat that touches on designer, Australian Martin Grant's Parisian sensibility.

Crew played models at the launch and were taught how to walk the runway in Christian Louboutin shoes under the tutelage of international runway coach Jay Alexander. Grant beat peers Collette Dinnigan, Josh Goot and Dion Lee to replace Peter Morrissey whose Boomerang print uniforms have faced the airline for the past 11 years.

Grant is known for his bespoke tailoring and immaculately fitted suiting so it was little surprise to see sleek, modern lines and an elegant finish across the men and women's uniforms.

When he got the airline role, high on the list of requirements from Qantas was a silhouette to suit all staff regardless of age, ethnicity, body shape or job description. The new designs will be worn by all uniformed staff except pilots. They need to meet strict health and safety criteria, cost, thermal requirements and even fire retardant testing.

"Martin's work reflects modern and contemporary designs,'' said Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce. "We were extremely impressed with his appreciation for the Qantas brand.''

Eagle eyed passengers could have spotted the new designs already with prototypes of Grant's uniforms tested on Qantas flights but made up on the old fabric.

Testing will continue on different routes over the next few months to see how they perform in different climates and aircraft. By early 2014, all staff will be wearing the new style.

The Australian-born, Paris-based Grant is one of Australia's most successful designers. A fashion prodigy, he dropped out of high school in Melbourne at 15, launched his own line at 16 and moved to Paris in 1992 where he was instantly embraced by international fashion media. He counts celebrities such as Lauren Hutton, Cate Blanchett and Kate Hudson as customers and his collections are sold in Japan, France, Italy, the US and Australia.

From pillbox hats and mini skirts to wide collars and coloured shirts, the Qantas uniform has been re-designed nine times since 1959. Previous designers include Yves Saint Laurent, Emilio Pucci, George Gross and Harry Who. The current uniform designed by Peter Morrissey, and inspired by indigenous art, was unveiled in 2003 and is the longest running design in Qantas's 92 year history.

Qantas unveil their new cabin crew uniforms at The Hordern Pavillion. Photo: Dallas Kilponen

Variations of the 1985 uniform featured a blue skirt and a short blue jacket which had contrasting collar and cuffs in terracotta.

In 1993 Qantas opted for Australian designers and employed the services of George Gross and Harry Who. They continued with a print design in a skirt and blouse, teamed with a longer navy jacket. Navy pants were included in the options for winter.

Qantas summer uniform 1948-59.

The first nine hostesses joined Qantas in 1948. The functional summer uniform consisted of a white cotton dress with two-tone summer shoes.

The winter uniform of 1948 comprised of a navy skirt, jacket and tie with a white blouse, navy shoes, seamed stockings, a navy bag, navy coat and navy forage cap along with numerous Qantas Empire Airways buttons and shanks to complete the outfit. Photo: Fiona Morris

The first Qantas uniform worn by the flight crew was a military style khaki uniform with a navy fabric cap, black visor and a QEA badge c.1947. Photo: Stuart Ivers

With the introduction of the Boeing 707 came a change in uniform for the flight hostesses. The new colour was jungle green and the uniform consisted of a shirtmaker dress, slim skirt, and the uncluttered look of a collarless jacket was enhanced by a small shawl collar.

The 1964-69 uniform changed to an aqua fitted dress that was fully lined, thus eliminating the need for a petticoat.

The 1964-69 uniform.

The 1969-71 uniform was a burnt coral mini A-line dress with a short jacket and another exotic hat. With the introduction of pantyhose, uniform skirts were shortened considerably and the outfit was teamed with brown shoes and a brown leather handbag. Photo: Edwina Pickles

Deidre Graham models the Qantas Airways uniform 1969-71.

With the arrival of the Boeing 747 jumbo, came another change to the uniform.

Qantas uniform 1971-1974.

The flower-power look of the 1970s made its way to Qantas in the form of a floral, polyester shirtmaker dress designed by Emilio Pucci.

Qantas uniform 1974-85 designed by Emilio Pucci.

Qantas uniforms 1974-1985.

By 1985 it was time to employ the services of another European designer, this time Yves Saint Laurent, who introduced the flying kangaroo print skirt and shirt, along with a scarf.