- Could you please present yourselves ?
I am Christine Pfeiffer, co-director of AIRBORNE with Patricia Lejeune. We met when we were 17, while we were studying communication in Paris. We spent good times together and then we lost sight of each other. Patricia stayed in Paris and I moved to the provinces.
Twenty years after that, we found each other on Facebook. We met up again in the Landes for my 40th birthday party. In 2010, Airborne was in liquidation. I had worked for the Parisian holding for 4 years. I said to myself that we should not let the brand collapse. Patricia wanted to leave Paris and move to southwestern France. I called her and asked her to be my associate, so we can buy the company together. We both are passionate about the AA chair‘s story, and we want to give it a second life. It has been manufactured since 1951, but it is stuck in an office furniture magazine.
On the 10th of October 2010: Airborne is ours and we have to start it all again…
Today, after five years of hard work, we are proud of what we achieved : new materials, new collections, sold in 300 retailers in France, and 200 retailers abroad. Patricia is in charge of logistics and sales, and I take care of creation andcommunication. Cathy Wood joined the adventure two years ago. She deals with administration and international trade.
- What is the key word of Airborne ?
There are two words: simply timeless.
- What are your inspirations ?
Fashion, meeting new people, feeling, flair… and those who share our quality requirement at a human scale.
- What is your favourite piece of the last collection ?
Mine is The Lodge, because it is very elegant, and Patricia’s favourite is the black leather Buffalo because it’s modern and chic. And both of us love the new edition made of cane leather that will be released soon.
- What are your future projects ?
Make Airborne as famous as in the 50s-60s, and work with young designers like At-Once and Julien Devaux, as we have done for the past two years. Miss Trèfle was just released few months ago and is already successful, because the collection is aligned with the brand: it is timeless. Also keep on working with French craftspeople who love their job.
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