Press Club —

BOTTEGA VENETA x AIR AFRIQUE
A new platform for Afro-diasporic creativity and conversation.

Bottega Veneta has recently initiated a pioneering partnership with Air Afrique magazine—a new platform designed to foster Afro-diasporic art and conversation. Launched last month at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the print magazine has been conceived by a young collective in Paris, founded by creatives Lamine Diaoune, Djiby Kebe, and Jeremy Konko.

Published in both French and English, Air Afrique takes its inspiration from the pan-African magazines of the 20th century and takes its name from the pan-African airline Air Afrique—which was co-owned by Senegal, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger, Congo, and Chad. And which was operational between the years of 1961 and 2002. 

‘Air Afrique was more than an airline. It was a cultural platform,’ explains Co-Founder Djiby Kebe. An important expression of recently independent countries and of a certain pan-African ideal, the airline became a major patron of arts and culture, as well as a means for cross border transportation. ‘[Now] we want to share the Air Afrique archive and create our own archive—to capture this moment of change in Black awareness and expression.’

Led by the airline’s cultural vision—and by its in-flight magazine Balafon, which celebrated the cultural and historical diversity of the African continent—Air Afrique aims to transmit African cultural heritage and inspire cross-border creativity and discussion. Each issue of the magazine will include both archival material from the airline’s cultural patronage, and contemporary cultural expression from French, French-Caribbean, and African artists and writers.

‘We want to revive the African transcendence that Air Afrique represented,’ explains Founder and Creative Director Lamine Diaoune. ‘Our mission is to preserve this heritage, to put Air Afrique back in the cultural conversation, and to build on their example of cultural engagement.’

The Air Afrique collaboration represents the latest chapter in Bottega Veneta’s unique approach to print media partnerships, which is focused on both new and revived cultural magazines. ‘With our print partnerships, we recognise the craft, creativity, and quiet power of smaller-scale publications which give voice to specific communities,’ explains the brand. ‘Each magazine exemplifies quality design, editorial rigor, and a clarity and originality of vision.’ 

Guided by this ethos, Bottega Veneta is lending its brand name, platforms, and tailored events to help support the launch of Air Afrique and to build an engaged community of international readers. To celebrate the partnership, Bottega Veneta has also released a limited-edition series of blankets by Franco-Sudanese designer Abdel El Tayeb, a designer in the brand’s studio. Specially commissioned by Creative Director Matthieu Blazy to mark the launch of Air Afrique, each blanket represents a unique composition of the finest wool, silver leather, and shearling from the Bottega Veneta archives. Capturing an inspiring collaboration with genuine connection at its core. 

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