HSY's PIA uniform post: what his 'Runway to Runway' Instagram really says

Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, better known as HSY, does not usually write long captions. His Instagram post about PIA’s new cabin crew uniforms is an exception, and it says a lot about how he wants this job to be remembered.

The post went up after PIA announced on Thursday, October 22, that HSY had been chosen to design the national airline’s new crew look. At the time of writing it had more than 13,600 likes and around 540 comments.

What does HSY’s caption say?

It opens with three words, “Runway to Runway”, and a Pakistani flag. Then, instead of talking about himself first, he goes back to 1966, when French couturier Pierre Cardin designed PIA’s famous look. HSY writes that he is “deeply honored” to become part of that design legacy.

That choice of opening is smart. Older Pakistanis still talk about the Cardin era, when PIA hostesses were a fashion story in their own right. By starting there, HSY puts himself in a line of designers rather than presenting the uniform as a personal brand moment.

The middle of the caption is about his own career: more than three decades of trying to show the world “what Pakistani design can be”, and calling this one of the greatest honours of that career. He closes with short, almost slogan-like lines about confidence, warmth and style, carried “by the people who welcome the world on board”, and thanks PIA for trusting him.

PIA’s own post on X used the same “Runway to Runway” line and said the airline was “bringing runway glamour back to the skies”. The matching wording suggests the two posts were planned together.

What do the new PIA uniforms look like?

The photos released with the announcement show a deep bottle green throughout. The male crew uniform is a high-collared jacket in the bandhgala style with matching trousers. The women’s look is a long, fitted kameez with fine vertical stitching, straight trousers, a pillbox-style cap with the airline’s badge and a soft grey scarf.

It is a calm, tailored look rather than a showy one, and the green ties neatly to PIA’s colours and the flag without shouting about it. The lines are clean enough to photograph well on a plane, which matters, because this uniform will be posted by passengers for years.

PIA says the fabrics are breathable and the tailoring is built for long-haul shifts and free movement, The Express Tribune reported. HSY told reporters he wanted crew to feel “extraordinarily confident and comfortable” in the clothes.

How was HSY chosen?

Ten Pakistani designers presented concepts at a showcase in Karachi, and a jury of fashion figures and industry people picked HSY’s, according to Arab News. Gulf News named the panel as Shamoon Sultan, Nilofer Shahid, Nabila, Hina Tayyaba Khalil and Naseem Tehrani.

The Tribune also recalled the uniform’s history after Cardin: royal couturier Sir Hardy Amies in the 1970s, and Nomi Ansari’s design, which stayed in use for 12 years.

When will passengers see it?

The uniforms debut on October 31 on PIA’s first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flight from London to Islamabad. Expect HSY’s next post to come from that flight.