Nike and Paris-based creative collective Air Afrique are here to change formal wear shoes/sneakers with the Air Max RK61. Part moccasin, part Air Max, and named after the original airline’s flight code, RK, and its founding year, 1961, the RK61 is actually more than a cool nod to the past. It’s being sold by the brands as a wearable story of connection, travel, and culture.
The Air Max RK61 is something very new and different for Nike. It borrows cues from classic moccasins while sitting atop Nike’s signature Air Max technology. Even the details tell a story: a jet-engine-inspired Air Max unit, Morse code spelling “Air Afrique” etched into the outsole, a zipper pull featuring the original airline logo, and a jacquard sock liner reminiscent of vintage aircraft seats.
All of this is packaged to gether for a shoe/sneaker that you could wear to a formal dinner party, the office or a stroll down the street.
“The notion of Air is deeply connected to our history,” says Ahmadou-Bamba Thiam, editor and member of the Air Afrique collective. “Air Afrique, the airline itself, took to the skies to transcend cultures and newly independent African people. 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.”
The airline launched in 1961 as a Pan-African carrier, connecting West and Central African nations when most didn’t have the means to operate a national airline. Mismanagement and industry crises led to its liquidation in 2002, but the brand lived on. In 2021, Lamine Diaoune, Djiby Kebe, Jeremy Konko, and Ahmadou-Bamba transformed Air Afrique into a creative collective of visual arts, photography, cinema, and now, footwear.
“This project is meant to bring out the rich history of Air Afrique, highlighting what the airline represented as an achievement for the continent and the people of those West African nations, domestic and abroad,” explains Jupiter Desphy, lead designer on the RK61. “The ability to travel, meet new people, and experience other cultures forms our worldview. We wanted to show respect to an era of movement many people may not be familiar with, in the form of a shoe.”
The Première Classe campaign frames the launch in cinematic style. It features Didier Drogba, Oumou Sangaré, sprinter Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith, and Mme Daba Traoré, a former employee of the airline.
The Air Max RK61 launches globally on October 9 via SNKRS and select retailers (although no price has been specified as yet). Many have said that if Dior were to design an Air Max, it might look like this.
Air Afrique may no longer fly, but the Nike Air Max RK61 makes sure its legacy takes off again.
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