The Italian house helps launch Air Afrique, a publication conceived by a Parisian art collective focussing on ‘Afro-diasporic art and conversation’.
The name is taken from a now defunct pan-African airline that existed between 1961-2002, co-owned by the countries of Senegal, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger, Congo, and Chad.
Air Afrique, the airline, remains a neatly representative of Air Afrique’s dream of pan-African unity. As such, the magazine will explore “the cultural and historical diversity of the African continent” in the spirit of Balafon, Air Afrique’s original in-flight magazine.
Published in both English and French, Air Afrique merges archival material from the actual discontinued airline, and its in-flight magazine Balafon, and adds a modern take on the African diasporic theme with cultural contributions from French, French-Caribbean and African writers and artists.
Speaking on the move, founder Lamine Diaoune states: “We want to revive the African transcendence that Air Afrique represented. 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.”
In line of the launch, a limited edition set of blankets designed by Franco-Sudanese designer Abdel El Tayeb, who works in the Bottega Veneta design atelier, will also be made available by Bottega Veneta. Each blanket is a one-of-a-kind creation made from the finest wool, silver leather, and shearling sourced from the archive of Bottega Veneta and was specially commissioned by Matthieu Blazy to commemorate the opening of the zine project.
Discover more of the Limited Edition Bottega Veneta blanket collection here:
