Hunter Apparel Solutions Limited (Hunter) recently delivered the eagerly anticipated new uniform collection for Avanti West Coast Trains (Avanti). The new collection includes over 60 bespoke items that were designed by Hunter’s in-house R&D department, in collaboration with Avanti colleagues.
It is the first uniform for the new Avanti West Coast brand, and the uniform design was especially chosen to represent the brand’s modern elegance.
Hunter’s relationship with the team at Avanti West Coast goes as far back as 2016 when they delivered the iconic Virgin Trains uniform collection under the franchise that preceded Avanti West Coast.
This partnership has won multiple awards, including Best Managed Major Contract and Best Business Manager from the Professional Clothing Industry Association Worldwide (PCIAW).
Hunter has since assisted the Avanti West Coast team in navigating the transition between franchises, by decommissioning the Virgin Trains uniform in an ethical manner – including donating thousands of garments to homeless support organizations. Hunter also supported Avanti with interim Avanti uniforms, which was rolled out in a record-breaking time. Hunter ultimately won the new competitive tender process to design and deliver the new Avanti uniform, as part of a fully managed service, to over 3000 staff home addresses.
“Hunter’s Uniform proposal through their live HunterPac online portal has revolutionized the way in which we procure and manage frontline uniforms to our 3,000 wearers on the UK mainland,” said
Timothy Mathew, uniform account manager, Avanti West Coast.
For Avanti, the design process for this collection was truly unique, as Hunter was able to utilize 2D and 3D design technology to enable the Avanti team to fully experience how their uniform would look and feel – before any garments were physically manufactured, and before any carbon was added to the process.
Once the initial designs were agreed upon, Hunter was able to utilize their UK R&D unit to rapidly create sample garments for review and wearer trials. This highly automated unit saw c.£1 million of investment in IT and robotics in 2020/21 making manufacturing even more sustainable by reducing waste substantially.
Hunter and Avanti worked together to design a paperless, digital feedback process to gather wearer trial feedback on the individual garments in the collection. Staff responses were collated digitally, assessed, and embedded in the new uniform. This process allowed diversity, modesty, and other inclusion aspects that were incorporated into the collection.
The uniform was delivered to Avanti, to the delight of their staff who have praised the new collection for its design flair, quality, and alignment with their brand.
