Heritage takes flight with Nike and Air Afrique

When Nike collaborates, it rarely feels casual. Every collaboration is designed to tell a story that transcends sport. The brand’s latest project is a partnership with Air Afrique, a Paris-based creative collective, which introduces the Air Max RK61, named after the original Air Afrique airline’s flight code, RK, and its founding year, 1961. The shoe pays tribute to the airline’s role in linking West Africa with its diaspora, blending heritage, style, and innovation.

Established to connect West African nations and the diaspora, Air Afrique was an airline that symbolically represented a newly liberated continent. That symbolic weight makes its rebirth as a creative collective in 2021 all the more compelling. Founded by Lamine Diaoune, Djiby Kebe, Jeremy Konko and Ahmadou-Bamba Thiam, Air Afrique now exists as a platform for Afro-diasporic cultural expression across photography, cinema, literature and visual arts.

“The notion of Air is deeply connected to our history: Air Afrique, the airline itself, took to the skies to transcend cultures and newly independent African people,” says Ahmadou-Bamba Thiam, a member of the Air Afrique collective and editor of its magazine. “We also speak of Air as a symbolic, metaphorical elevation through culture and humanity. This concept was really our starting point for the product design and was central to creating the elegant silhouette of the Air Max RK61.”

To debut the RK61, Nike and Air Afrique staged Première Classe, a campaign that mirrors the golden age of airline advertising while feeling distinctly modern. Icons of sport and culture embody the silhouette’s ethos of elevation: Ivorian football legend Didier Drogba, renowned Malian singer Oumou Sangaré, sprinter Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith, and Mme Daba Traoré, a former employee of the original airline. Their presence in the campaign highlights the breadth and intergenerational strength of diasporic reference figures across disciplines.

The Air Max RK61 is not the first collaboration between Nike and Air Afrique — last year’s Air Afrique Football Club campaign laid the foundation. But this new project feels like a more profound boarding call.

The Nike x Air Afrique Air Max RK61 will be available October 9 on SNKRS and at select global retailers.