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Corporate Uniform Trends Shaping Modern Businesses
From capsule essentials to sustainable fabrics, here are the latest modern corporate uniforms trends for your staff.
Business is back. Getting into gear post-holiday, everyone is back in the office, out on the road, and busy planning for 2025 while building on the momentum from last year.
Between working hard to retain staff and nurture talent, businesses are also looking for ways to energize their people and their customers' experience. The increasing take-up of uniforms designed for staff to feel good in is part of the emerging trend across a range of industries from retail to corporate offices and hotels or clubs. We asked Cargo Crew Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Felicity Rodgers to give us the corporate uniform trends setting the tone for the year ahead.
Look Sharp with Smith Oxford
If your first instinct is to reach for a tee, consider making an Oxford shirt a new hero piece in your wardrobe. Easily styled up or down, a collection of Oxford shirts performs as the perfect base in a modern corporate wardrobe. Button up under a blazer for the ultimate professional edge or opt for a smart casual look by wearing untucked or open with a pair of chinos.
We designed the Smith Oxford Shirt to perform as an all-day modern uniform by developing a fabric that is super lightweight and easy-care, so it can be washed and worn again and again. This longevity has the added benefit of saving on costly uniform replacements, when cared for correctly, an Oxford shirt can last for years!
As for which color you should choose? If you’re in a warmer climate, consider opting for a lighter style, like our Oatmeal or Sky Blue. For something darker consider Midnight Navy or Coal as an alternative to black! Explore our full palette and make Smith Oxford your new hero piece!
Uniforms that are positive for people, and positive for the planet, are becoming a focus for employers and 100% cotton is a great choice.
Cotton’s inherent strength makes it ideal for shirts that need to withstand regular washing such as uniform shirts. Being a hypoallergenic material, cotton is less likely to irritate the skin, making it ideal for daily wear. Cotton fabrics are renewable and if recycled correctly (like through our uniforms recycling program!) cotton will decompose and help fertilize the area where it is placed, meaning once your shirt has done its job, it won’t become one of the many garments contributing to landfills globally.
For 2025, we’re loving the 100% cotton Will Shirt available in a women’s and men’s cut, as your must-have striped shirt. For some added variation in the wardrobe, go for our checked Frankie Shirt in Royal Blue. See all our 100% cotton work shirts and learn more about the benefits of cotton.
Hints of athleisure dominated the fashion world last year and it hasn’t left since. Defined by a variation upon variation of the polo shirt, it’s a timeless, enduring style for a reason. The sporty aesthetic and signature lines of the polo collar promote classic style and when paired with suiting, layers and chinos, the style gains a modern edge.
Our collection of polos includes the Louie, which features contrast tipping at the collar edge making it a premium alternative to Smith Oxford shirt. For more feminine detailing, the Pippa Polo is also a great option with a collarless neckline and flattering longer sleeve length. An affordable piece that can easily be branded with logo embroidery, you can’t look past a polo as the ultimate brand statement that makes your employees stand out.
Power of Presentation
The style bar is rising. Casualisation is fading for staff uniforms in 2025, with suiting coming back into the fold as an elevated choice. Comfort remains important and pieces that capture traditional corporate style also need to service the modern workplace. Our Suiting range epitomizes this balance. With premium styling and refined details, our suits are made with bi-stretch fabric for easy all-day movement. Designed in men’s and women’s cuts, our suiting works for all team members, with options to dress up and make an impact with ties and accessories and our selection of work shirts. We really love an all-black look featuring our Taylor Blazer paired with a tonal shirt and tie.
A softer side to corporate dressing
Our new Odette blouse has been designed to be worn in multiple ways. Embracing a soft and comfortable silhouette for all-day dressing, Odette can be styled with a blazer and belt, whilst also being simple and chic paired with a cardigan.
An ever-lasting uniform power play is adding brand detail. A well-placed embroidered logo or accessory in your brand colors helps build a lasting impression with your customers. It’s also a powerful way to engage staff with your brand, by showing you value them with a well-styled uniform! Take a look at the possibilities with the uniforms of five sales teams who are using Cargo Crew uniforms to drive customer engagement, elevate their brand and boost their selling power.
To sum up 2025 in a uniform, it’s all about timeless style with contemporary flair. Making a lasting impression on your customers is as important as staff comfort, so consider fabric and fit as much as your colors and styles! For support in deciding on your uniform, talk to a Cargo Crew styling expert or browse our collection of lookbooks and catalogs.
Felicity Rodgers is the founder and chief creative officer of Cargo Crew, home of the Modern Uniform. After graduating from Fashion Design at RMIT, Felicity founded Cargo Crew in 2002 after recognising a gap in the market for stylish, well-designed uniforms. Felicity used a $2000 tax return to fund the start-up of her corporate workwear business from her one-bedroom flat in Melbourne. Today, Cargo Crew is synonymous with design-led, fit-for-work uniforms for hospitality, retail and corporate businesses around the world. With over 80,000 customers in more than 90 countries, Cargo Crew dresses the best and brightest makers, operators, and enterprises in the country.
