Nike dress shoe flies first class on Air Afrique
The US sports giant has teamed up with Air Afrique, a Paris-based creative collective, to create a new Air Max, the RK61 named after the former airline’s code. The leather moccasin has a sleek and chic design that bridges “heritage, craft and innovation”. It features several references to air travel, from the zipper pull to the air unit, which is said to be inspired by a jet engine, and the collective’s name is spelled in morse code on the outsole.
The upscale aesthetics were chosen to evoke how émigrés dress up when they return home, and the campaign features singer Oumou Sangaré, sprinter Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith and Didier Drogba.
The Air Afrique collective, launched by Lamine Diaoune, Djiby Kebe, Jeremy Konko and Ahmadou-Bamba in 2021, is active in the visual arts, cinema and photography. Last year it collaborated with Nike on an Air Afrique Football Club campaign.
The Air Max RK61 will be released on October 9 for £185.
