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TWA Hotel | Where Aviation Fashion Takes Flight

From revolutionary paper dress to modern-day uniforms, TWA’s fashion legacy lives on at its JFK hotel

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Imagine you could travel back to the golden age of aviation– an era where aisles functioned as runways for glamorous flight attendants and multi-course meals were served on china rather than reheated trays. TWA’s hotel suspends the laws of time to give guests a retrospective insight into the midcentury jet-age, along with a luxury stay.

Despite closing its operations in 2001, Trans World Airlines (TWA) has been ressurrected and reimagined into a five-star hotel in Queens, New York. Ero Saarinen’s landmark 1962 TWA Flight Center marks the centerpiece of the hotel– housing upscale lounges, fine-dining restaurants, and retail boutqiues– nothing short of the luxury experience. But perhaps the hotel’s most unique appeal for travellers is its unrivalled location directly within the grounds of John F.Kennedy International Airport (JFK), treating guests to unobstructed views of the runway.

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Whether travellers are seeking a convenient airport commute or want to geek out on all things aviation, the TWA offers its guests a field day, highlighted by its in-house museum exhibition. The New York Historical Society collaborated with the historic landmark to display over 2000 artefacts that trace TWA’s story– including vintage furniture, original travel posters and 37 full TWA uniforms spanning 1945 to 2001.

TWA was once synonymous with bold, avant-garde uniforms for its flight attendants–a legacy epitomised by the revolutionary, yet short-lived, paper dresses of the late 1960s. The company’s commitment to striking fashion lives on at the TWA’s hotel, as its staff pay homage to their aviation lineage by dressing in adapted versions of the 1970s uniforms.

Celebrated American Designer, Stan Herman, was entrusted with this task of reimagining his 1970s TWA flight attendant designs into a colorful ensemble of jackets and skirts. And given that Herman’s original designs attracted luxury couturiers like Pierre Balmain and Ralph Lauren, it is no surprise that the five-star hotel sought the very same prestigious touch to define its modern era.

For those seeking a universe where fashion and aviation seamlessly co-exist– where planes and stylish flight attendants share the runway– TWA offers its guests the ultimate escape.

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Trans World Airlines, John F.Kennedy International Airport, paper dresses, TWA, JFK, Ralph Lauren, Pierre Balmain, The New York Historical Society, Beth Munro-Morris
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