( CNN ) -- For most designers showing off their latest collections at New York 's Fashion Week , functionality is n't a main consideration . Models have been known to strut the catwalk in toppling hats , teetering heels and floor-length gowns with enough ruffled trim to sweep an auditorium . But not everyone 's focused on runway looks 365 days a year . Hot Fashion Week commodities Prabal Gurung and Sophie Theallet are also creating uniforms for working people . This April , Sephora 's beauty advisers in North America will begin wearing uniforms designed by Gurung exclusively for the cosmetics retailer . Women can choose between a black shift dress with a red slit and a black fitted pant suit . Men get sleek black separates that also incorporate slashes of red . Female staff at the Rose Bar in New York 's Gramercy Park Hotel are already donning Theallet 's drape dresses in spill-proof silk as part of an overall refresh of the hotel 's interiors . Complete coverage : New York Fashion Week . The looks are the latest in a long line of collaborations that goes back at least as far as the 1960s , when airlines eagerly sought out high-end designers to give their flight staff a touch of class to set them apart . Halston and Pucci designed uniforms for Braniff Airlines in the 1960s and 1970s ; Air France tapped Dior and Nina Ricci in the 1980s . The trend was popularized among bigger corporations in the 1970s with the help of Stan Herman , who was president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America for 16 years and is a pioneer of the ready-to-wear category . As the designer behind uniforms for FedEx , JetBlue , United Airlines , TWA and McDonald 's , his creations are believed to cover more bodies than those of any other single designer . `` The most important thing is likeability , '' Herman said . `` If a corporation walks around in a uniform they do n't like , they become a grumpy corporation . '' A stylish outfit also helps build a brand and incorporate the staff into the design motif of their workplace . `` Art , fashion and music are all important components which shape our culture here at the Gramercy Park Hotel , '' said Damion Luaiye , the hotel 's creative director . `` In building these relationships , we strive to create a place where we can work together to add a new , interesting element for our guests , whether it be new dresses for our female staff , artwork for our lobby and Rose Bar . '' This marks the hotel 's second uniform collaboration with a high-end designer , after a successful relationship with Narciso Rodriguez . The designer also benefits from experiencing a new kind of challenge , said Cindi Leive , editor-in-chief of Glamour . `` I think designers like the uniform challenge because it 's exactly that , it 's a challenge . To work within certain parameters , it 's almost like a reality competition : 'Let me see how I can take these constraints and make them look fantastic . ' `` CNN 's Ethel Bass and Alina Cho contributed to this report .
Designers Prabal Gurung and Sophie Theallet create uniforms for the working class . The new collection is a collaboration between designer Prabal Gurung, who has worked with Nike on its Air Max line, and fashion photographer Sophie Theallet, whose work includes portraits of Kanye West and Rihann@@ A stylish uniform helps burnish brand , incorporate staff into workplace design motif .