Nike has partnered with Air Afrique to present the Air Max RK61, a silhouette that connects the history of travel with contemporary design. The model arrives as a hybrid dress shoe, reworking Nike’s Air technology through a lens of cultural memory and refined craftsmanship.
The shoe takes its name from the code RK and the year 1961, a direct reference to the founding of Air Afrique, the airline that once linked West African nations with the diaspora. This foundation sets the tone for a design that combines sport, formality, and heritage. A polished upper recalls moccasin traditions, while the sole carries an Air Max unit shaped to resemble a jet engine. Additional references to aviation appear in morse code spelling out “Air Afrique” on the outsole, a zipper pull featuring the airline’s emblem, and a jacquard sock liner designed to echo aircraft seating.
Ahmadou-Bamba Thiam, member of the Air Afrique collective and editor of its magazine, describes the concept as rooted in both physical and symbolic flight. “Air Afrique, the airline itself, took to the skies to transcend cultures and newly independent African people,” he explains. “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.”
Air Afrique re-emerged in 2021 as a multidisciplinary collective founded by Lamine Diaoune, Djiby Kebe, Jeremy Konko, and Ahmadou-Bamba Thiam. Their platform draws from film, photography, and visual art, reshaping the airline’s cultural role into contemporary projects that link Afro-diasporic communities. Lead designer Jupiter Desphy frames the RK61 as a reminder of that era of connection. “The opportunity to travel should be available to everyone, and the ability to meet new people, see distant relatives and gain exposure to different cultures forms our worldview in a meaningful way. As a team, we wanted to show respect to an era of movement many people may not be familiar with, in the form of a shoe that articulates these ideas and emotions.”
This release follows the earlier Air Afrique Football Club campaign, extending the collective’s relationship with Nike. For Ahmadou-Bamba, the choice of collaborator carries weight. “We’re very deliberate about who we work with, making sure we uphold the Air Afrique name,” he says. “Nike is a universal brand with a cultural platform that reaches a wide audience and has always resonated with us, ever since we were kids. There’s intention and distinction in every Nike innovation and design decision, and that’s what connects them to our story with Air Afrique – because that intentionality is at the center of everything we do.”
The Première Classe campaign introduces the Air Max RK61 through imagery influenced by early 20th-century advertising, reframed in a contemporary register. The project brings together figures who embody Afro-diasporic achievement: football legend Didier Drogba, Malian singer Oumou Sangaré, sprinter Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith, and Mme Daba Traoré, who once worked for the original airline. Their presence reflects intergenerational references to excellence and memory.
The Nike x Air Afrique Air Max RK61 releases worldwide on October 9 through SNKRS and select retail partners.
