Air France will celebrate its 90th anniversary next month, and will commemorate the milestone with an exhibition at the Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann.
The carrier was officially inaugurated on 7 October, 1933, following the merger of Air Orient, Air Union, Société Générale de Transports Aériens, the Compagnie Internationale de Navigation Aérienne and Aéropostale.
Air France has comissioned Xavier Ronze, head of the costume design workshops at the Paris Opera ballet, “to create a collection of five iconic dresses embodying the company’s legendary history”.
The dresses will be the focus of a window display at the Galeries Lafayette store between 28 September and 10 October.
The design of each dress has been inspired by different hallmarks of the airline – aircraft and technology; uniforms and fashion; iconic posters; fine dining and tableware; and design and architecture.
In addition customers will be able to visit pop-up concessions within the store, offering “offering a range of affordable and more limited-edition models of old and new aircraft, as well as a collection of comfort kits, postcards and baggage tags and notebooks sporting the 90 years signature”.
There will also be the chance to purchase original tableware used in La Premiere and business class cabins between 1966 and the 2000s, signed by the painter Jean Picart Le Doux, with proceeds going to the Air France Foundation.