British Council and Paul Smith's Foundation Unite Designers for Sustainable Fashion Exchange

Creative DNA x Studio Smithfield, a peer-to-peer international exchange backed by the British Council, Paul Smith's Foundation, and Projekt, opened its first residency phase in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 16 to 23 March 2026, bringing together six emerging fashion designers from the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa to collaborate, share expertise, and build what the programme's architects call sustainable creative and professional relationships.

The week-long Addis Ababa residency gave participants access to studio space, mentorship, and direct introductions to buyers, press, and industry leaders, with craftsmanship and sustainability running as twin organising principles throughout. The cross-continental format is structured as a genuine peer exchange rather than a training hierarchy: the programme frames its model explicitly as "built on equal partnership rather than one-way knowledge skills transfer," a distinction that sets it apart from conventional mentorship pipelines that flow only westward.

Farai Ncube, Regional Arts Director at the British Council, framed the programme's ambitions in terms that go beyond individual career development. "This initiative reflects the British Council's commitment to supporting the creative economy across Africa and the UK by placing creative professionals and their potential at the centre of sustainable growth," Ncube said. "Through authentic collaboration, skills exchange, and mutual respect across cultures, we support designers and creative practitioners in building sustainable enterprises and accessing global markets. This cross-continental residency exchange in London and Ethiopia, with an emphasis on craftsmanship and sustainability, will help foster enduring partnerships, facilitate knowledge sharing, and unlock new opportunities for creative talent to thrive and collaborate across borders."

The Addis Ababa opening marks the most internationally ambitious iteration yet of Creative DNA, the British Council accelerator that launched in Kenya in 2020 and has since trained over 200 designers and fashion entrepreneurs. The programme has expanded across six countries, reaching Ethiopia, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Uganda, delivered through a blended model that draws trainers and industry experts from both Africa and the UK to provide structured learning, market access, and sector engagement.

The Studio Smithfield collaboration signals a new chapter for Creative DNA, one that formally anchors London as a destination within the residency circuit rather than simply a distant aspiration. The British Council describes the programme as a cross-continental residency exchange encompassing both London and Ethiopia, though specific dates and venues for the London phase have not yet been announced. Paul Smith's Foundation and Projekt are named as co-partners in the initiative; neither organisation's specific programmatic role has been detailed publicly.

For a programme that has consistently argued the African fashion sector's contribution to global exports is undervalued, the Addis Ababa launch carries weight beyond its modest cohort of six. Henri Uduku's collection appearing on the runway at Africa Fashion Week London 2025 offers a concrete image of where Creative DNA's alumni can land. The question the programme now poses to London's fashion establishment is whether peer-to-peer exchange, conducted at residency level and backed by institutional names like Paul Smith's Foundation, can shift the terms of that conversation permanently.