International

Henri Uduku and Black Fine and Fly to represent Nigeria in British Council Creative DNA at AFWL 2025

Sunday, 10 August 2025 4:08AM UTC

Two Nigerian design houses, Henri Uduku and Black Fine and Fly, will be part of a ten‑designer British Council Creative DNA delegation at Africa Fashion Week London on 9–10 August 2025. The cohort will appear on the Next Gen catwalk at Space House and in a British Council pavilion offering talks, business clinics and retail tours to connect emerging African designers with UK buyers, industry expertise and opportunities in sustainable and tech‑enabled fashion.

Two Nigerian design houses, Henri Uduku and Black Fine and Fly, will represent the country at Africa Fashion Week London (AFWL) 2025 as part of a ten‑designer Creative DNA delegation organised with the British Council. According to the original report in Champion News, the designers are set to feature in a dedicated British Council catwalk presentation and exhibition pavilion during the two‑day festival at Space House, London on 9–10 August 2025. The showcase is intended to give early‑stage African designers new international connections and access to UK markets. (This article preserves those core details while adding context from the festival organisers and the British Council.)

AFWL, now in its fifteenth season, will stage multiple catwalks, an exhibition hall, talks and a festival celebrating indigo‑dyed Adire textiles across public and industry programmes. The event schedule published by AFWL confirms Space House, 1 Kemble Street, as the venue and lists a Next Gen Catwalk on Saturday 9 August at 4:00pm that includes the British Council’s Creative DNA cohort. Tickets grant access to catwalks and exhibitions, and the festival is designed to connect designers, buyers and wider audiences with an emphasis on sustainable practice and industry development.

The Creative DNA initiative itself is presented by the British Council as a long‑running effort to build international routes to market for Sub‑Saharan African fashion enterprises. The British Council explains that the programme—launched in 2020—provides business incubation, mentorship, coaching and access to UK markets, and that recent iterations have included digital coaching, mentorship from UK experts and action‑based learning cohorts based in countries such as Kenya, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. Champion News and British Council materials both note that participating designers will also take part in business clinics, panel discussions and retail and manufacturing tours while in London.

Henri Uduku is presented as an established presence within the programme: according to the original report, he has previously showcased at continental platforms including CANEX@IATF2023 in Cairo and the Creative Economy Week 2025 in Harare. Black Fine and Fly is described as an Afro‑European collective working in denim with strong African heritage influences and is a more recent addition to Creative DNA. The British Council’s event listing also names both designers among the ten selected for the Creative DNA showcase, situating them within a cross‑national line‑up that includes talent from Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Beyond the runway, organisers say the British Council Pavilion will offer a programme of talks, networking and practical industry exposure: panel sessions with UK experts, sessions with Westminster University and the Fashion Retail Academy, and retail‑ecosystem tours to examine ethical production and global retail dynamics. AFWL and the British Council have both signalled a particular interest in the intersection of fashion and technology this year, with planned exhibitions that highlight collaborations between African designers and AI and robotics labs to explore virtual‑reality runways and tech‑enabled storytelling.

Those institutional ambitions are being framed within a larger economic case for supporting creative enterprise. Donna McGowan, Country Director, British Council Nigeria, is quoted in the original report saying, “Nigeria’s creative industry contributes over $7 billion to the economy, with fashion playing a key role in its global influence. Platforms like Africa Fashion Week London provide emerging designers like Henri Uduku and Black Fine and Fly with critical international exposure, helping them build networks, attract buyers, and gain the market insight needed to scale their brands sustainably.” Independent analysis, however, places the sector’s value at a different point: a Guardian Nigeria analysis cited industry figures that put the creative economy at roughly $7.7 billion in 2021 and suggested growth towards as much as $15 billion by 2025, while also flagging policy gaps, infrastructure shortfalls and the need for stronger intellectual‑property protections to turn cultural capital into enduring economic returns.

For AFWL, the British Council partnership is presented as a strategic step in elevating African fashion in the UK market. Queen Ronke Ademiluyi‑Ogunwusi, founder of Africa Fashion Week London, said in the event announcement that the collaboration “represents a bold step forward in our mission to elevate African fashion on the global stage,” adding that showcasing these designers in London helps to “forge deeper cross‑cultural connections within the global fashion ecosystem.” AFWL’s own publicity highlights the festival’s role as a platform for both public audiences and trade visitors, including a Next Gen runway and VIP showcases alongside shopping by dozens of African‑heritage brands.

The immediate practical benefits for the participating designers are clear: direct exposure to international buyers, access to peer and institutional networks, and hands‑on insight into UK retail and production practices. Organisers and programme partners frame these activities as part of a broader effort to professionalise early‑stage fashion businesses and to embed sustainability, technical capacity and digital innovation in their growth strategies. At the same time, analysts and sector stakeholders caution that such international windows need to be accompanied by domestic policy and infrastructure improvements if the full economic promise of fashion and the wider creative industries is to be realised.

Visitors to AFWL 2025 are invited to view the British Council Pavilion and to attend the Creative DNA catwalk on Saturday 9 August at 4:00pm, when the ten‑designer cohort—including Henri Uduku and Black Fine and Fly—will present on the Next Gen stage.

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Source: Noah Wire Services

More on this

https://championnews.com.ng/2025/08/09/nigerian-designers-to-feature-at-the-africa-fashion-week-london-2025/ - Please view link - unable to able to access data
https://www.africafashionweeklondonuk.com/ - Africa Fashion Week London (AFWL) is the world’s longest-running showcase of African and African-inspired design, marking its fifteenth season on 9–10 August 2025 at Space House, London. The event combines multiple catwalk shows, an exhibition hall, talks and an Adire festival celebrating indigo-dyed textiles. AFWL highlights include a Next Gen runway, VIP Atelier showcases and shopping by over thirty African-heritage brands. Designed to connect designers, buyers and audiences, the festival emphasises sustainable practice, cultural celebration and industry development. Tickets grant access to exhibitions and catwalks, with a dedicated schedule of industry and public-facing activities across two days and networking opportunities.
https://arts.britishcouncil.org/get-involved/events/africa-fashion-week-london-2025 - The British Council’s Arts page describes its Creative DNA delegation at Africa Fashion Week London 2025, presenting ten designers from Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Uganda. The programme will feature a dedicated British Council catwalk, an exhibition pavilion and participation in AFWL talks, with the Creative DNA showcase scheduled for 9–10 August at Space House and the catwalk on Saturday 9 August at 4:00pm. The page explains Creative DNA’s aim to build international connections, provide market access, offer manufacturing tours and business clinics. It lists participating designers, including Henri Uduku and Black, Fine & Fly, and exhibition networking opportunities.
https://www.africafashionweeklondonuk.com/afwl2025-event-schedule - The AFWL 2025 event schedule confirms Space House, 1 Kemble Street, London WC2B 4AN as the venue and details programming across 7–10 August. Saturday 9 August features public exhibition shopping, a 2pm Catwalk Spectacular, and a 4pm Next Gen Catwalk showcasing emerging talents. The Next Gen lineup lists the British Council Creative DNA delegation, including Henri Uduku and Black Fine & Fly among other pan‑African designers. Sunday 10 August includes Creative Panel Talks and a Cultural Catwalk. The schedule highlights a mix of public-facing markets, institutional panels and multiple runway showcases across two public days, education, trade and networking opportunities.
https://www.africafashionweeklondonuk.com/afwl-news/new-postafrica-fashion-week-london-announces-partnership-with-british-council - Africa Fashion Week London announced its partnership with the British Council to present the Creative DNA London Showcase, bringing ten emerging designers from across Africa to AFWL2025. The news item describes a curated catwalk on Saturday 9 August at 4pm, an exhibition featuring tech-enabled experiences, and panel discussions on sustainable fashion and entrepreneurship. Queen Ronke Ademiluyi‑Ogunwusi, AFWL founder, is quoted emphasising the partnership as a step to elevate African fashion globally and to deepen cross‑cultural connections. The piece frames the collaboration as part of the British Council’s strategy to champion creative talent and expand market access for early‑career designers international.
https://www.britishcouncil.org/east-africa-arts/our-stories/creative-dna-3-0 - The British Council’s Creative DNA 3.0 press release outlines the programme’s support for early‑stage fashion businesses in Kenya and across Sub‑Saharan Africa. Launched in 2020, Creative DNA provides business incubation, mentorship, coaching and access to UK markets. The 3.0 cohort selected twenty Kenyan start‑ups for action‑based learning, building on earlier cohorts that incubated multiple fashion businesses and linked designers to international opportunities. The release highlights mentorship by UK experts, digital coaching, and market campaigns, and notes previous Creative DNA delegations and installations in the UK. The initiative is positioned as a strategic investment in sustainable creative enterprise development and growth.
https://guardian.ng/art/destination-2030-creative-industry-on-track-but-not-yet-out-of-the-woods/ - The Guardian Nigeria analysis explores Nigeria’s creative industry growth and economic potential, citing figures that the sector generated approximately $7.7 billion in 2021 and projecting growth towards $15 billion by 2025. The article discusses policy gaps, infrastructure challenges and the need for investment to convert cultural capital into sustained economic returns. It highlights opportunities in textiles, fashion and other creative sub‑sectors, and notes ambitions to increase job creation and export revenue. Stakeholders urge tangible government support, improved intellectual property protection and enhanced market access to unlock the creative economy’s full potential for national development and inclusive growth.

Noah Fact Check Pro

The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may warrant further investigation.

Freshness check

Score: 10

Notes: The narrative is current, published on August 9, 2025, and pertains to an event scheduled for August 9–10, 2025. No earlier versions or recycled content were found. The report is based on a press release from the British Council, which typically warrants a high freshness score.

Quotes check

Score: 10

Notes: The quotes from Donna McGowan and Queen Ronke Ademiluyi-Ogunwusi are consistent with their statements in other reputable sources, such as Vanguard News and Platform Times. No discrepancies or variations in wording were found.

Source reliability

Score: 7

Notes: The narrative originates from Champion News, a Nigerian news outlet. While it provides detailed information, the outlet's reputation and credibility are not widely established, which introduces some uncertainty.

Plausability check

Score: 9

Notes: The claims about Henri Uduku and Black Fine and Fly participating in Africa Fashion Week London 2025 are corroborated by multiple reputable sources, including Vanguard News and Platform Times. The event details align with the official schedule of Africa Fashion Week London 2025. The narrative maintains a formal tone appropriate for the subject matter.

Overall assessment

Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS

Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): MEDIUM

Summary: The narrative is current and based on a press release, ensuring freshness. The quotes are consistent with other reputable sources, and the claims are plausible and corroborated by multiple outlets. However, the source's limited reputation introduces some uncertainty, leading to a medium confidence level in the overall assessment.

Creative DNA
Africa Fashion Week London
Nigerian fashion