Air France is revisiting a defining moment in its visual history by reissuing a first series of advertising posters designed in 1967 by Georges Mathieu, one of France’s most recognisable post-war artists. The release follows the airline’s partnership last spring with the exhibition Georges Mathieu – Gesture, Speed, Movement, co-produced by Monnaie de Paris and the Centre Pompidou.
An initial collection of six posters is available from today via Air France’s official retail platform and at a dedicated retail presence in Paris. The move gives the general public access to works that have long been part of the airline’s internal heritage and institutional archives, but rarely available for purchase.
Originally created in the late 1960s, Mathieu’s posters were part of a broader effort by Air France to align its brand with contemporary French art and cultural influence. At the time, the airline regularly commissioned leading artists to reinterpret travel through a modern, expressive lens, helping to position Air France as both a carrier and a cultural ambassador.
The newly released posters feature six destinations: France, Great Britain, Canada, the United States, South America and Mexico. Each composition reflects Mathieu’s signature style, characterised by rapid, gestural brushwork and a strong sense of movement, qualities that closely aligned with the idea of flight and speed during the jet age. According to Air France, posters featuring additional destinations are scheduled for release in 2026.
While the designs are faithful to the originals, the reproductions are not simple reprints. Air France says the project required more than six months of intensive work and close collaboration between its internal teams, the Georges Mathieu Committee, and specialist artisans including printers, screen printers and colour experts. The goal was to recreate the visual depth, colour intensity and material presence of the 1967 posters using modern printing techniques without losing their original character.
This process involved detailed archival research, colour matching and multiple test runs to achieve results that mirror the look and feel of the historical works. According to those involved, particular attention was paid to preserving the spontaneity and texture that define Mathieu’s work, despite the constraints of contemporary reproduction standards.
The posters are released as part of the airline’s Air France Legend collection, a curated range of objects that draw on the company’s design, fashion and advertising heritage. They are available online at shopping.airfrance.com and in Paris at the Oneart stand inside Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, located next to an Air France pop-up store opened specifically for the festive season.
The physical retail presence is designed to place the posters within a broader lifestyle and design context, rather than positioning them solely as aviation memorabilia. Air France describes the pieces as decorative objects intended for a wide audience, from design collectors and art enthusiasts to customers with a personal connection to the airline’s history.
Beyond their commercial appeal, the reissue reflects a wider trend among heritage brands seeking to monetise and reinterpret archival assets while reinforcing their cultural credentials. For Air France, the project also underlines its long-standing relationship with the arts, a strategy that continues today through fashion collaborations, museum partnerships and limited-edition design releases.
With this first series now available and further destinations planned for 2026, the airline is signalling that its graphic legacy is not simply a historical footnote, but an active part of how it communicates its identity. More than half a century after their creation, Georges Mathieu’s Air France posters are once again taking flight, this time as collectible design objects for a new generation.
