The Kurt Geiger Kindness Foundation is expanding its international reach with the launch of The Creative Corner in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The Creative Corner is a free Saturday creative education programme, co-founded and developed in partnership with creator and creative consultant Juliette Foxx, who grew up between Cameroon and the UK. The programme gives 60 young people aged 13-18 access to hands-on learning in weaving, leatherwork, printmaking, jewellery, footwear and bag design – skills not widely available to young people in the region. After months of weekly Saturday sessions using design materials donated by Kurt Geiger, the programme’s first cohort will conclude with a public showcase in late June 2026.
The programme draws on Cameroon’s creative and craft traditions while exploring new models for creative education within its growing fashion and creative economy. The Creative Corner connects these living traditions with younger generations, helping students see craft as part of a contemporary creative future. It was shaped from within the local creative community, enabled by Juliette Foxx’s strong relationships and understanding of the region, rather than imposed externally. Based at Holy Infant School in Yaoundé, it is taught by local Cameroonian artisan teachers using techniques and practices passed down within their own disciplines.
Students in the first cohort have spent their Saturday’s learning to make bags from raffia and leather, weave textiles using traditional Cameroonian techniques, and design jewellery and footwear. Their ambitions range from fashion and design to law, engineering and medicine. 17-year-old Giselle Wirsungrine said: “The Creative Corner gave me the answer to a question my dad asked me years ago, when he watched me make a bow tie from an old uniform and told me I should find somewhere to take my creativity seriously.”
The Creative Corner reflects the Kurt Geiger Kindness Foundation’s wider commitment to increasing access to creativity through initiatives such as Business by Design – its free, seven-month, AQA Unit Award-accredited career incubator based in London. Created to break down barriers for young people – particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds – pursuing careers in the creative industries, Business by Design combines weekly masterclasses and training sessions with one-to-one mentoring and paid work experience at Kurt Geiger. Participants gain hands-on exposure across departments including design, buying, digital marketing and merchandising. Now entering its fourth cohort, the programme has placed 16 participants into employment at Kurt Geiger, awarded entrepreneurial grants, and funded a scholarship to Central Saint Martins University. Business by Design has demonstrated that when barriers relating to cost, confidence and industry access are removed, creative talent can thrive.
The programme’s practical learning model and industry-led teaching have directly informed the structure of The Creative Corner, bringing the same inclusive approach into a new context – one focused on communities where young people have far fewer formal pathways into creative education and the fashion industry.
Looking ahead, the Kurt Geiger Kindness Foundation’s ambition is for The Creative Corner to become a lasting part of Cameroon’s creative education landscape – a programme that aims to integrate into the country’s existing education infrastructure and build formal pathways between Cameroonian craft traditions and the wider fashion and creative industries, both locally and internationally.
Neil Clifford, CEO, Kurt Geiger says: “When Juliette shared her vision to support young creatives in Yaoundé, we immediately knew we wanted to be part of it. The Creative Corner reflects the very heart of the Kurt Geiger Kindness Foundation’s mission: to build a more inclusive creative industry by equipping young people with the support, skills and opportunities they need to thrive. Our Foundation exists to empower emerging creatives around the world to find their place in this wonderful industry and turn their ambitions into reality – and The Creative Corner marks an exciting next step in making that vision possible.”
Juliette Foxx, Co-Founder, The Creative Corner says: “Cameroon has extraordinary artistic and craft traditions, but for many young people there are very few formal pathways connecting that talent to confidence, industry exposure or creative careers. The Creative Corner was born from the belief that young Africans shouldn’t have to leave home to see creativity as a serious future. The talent already exists. What’s often missing is the infrastructure, visibility and support around it.”
The first cohort concludes with a public showcase held in Yaoundé, in late June 2026, bringing together student work and pieces created by the programme’s artisan teachers.
