Joel Phillimore

Iconic British designer and fashion label, Paul Smith, has teamed up with UK based African charity, Alive + Kicking, to deck out the landmark Floral Street store in Covent Garden, London. Paul Smith has purchased the hand-made footballs in celebration of the European Championship and to raise awareness of Alive + Kicking’s charitable work. Alive and Kicking is a UK charity that establishes and supports not-for-profit social enterprises in Africa. Through the manufacture of sports balls in Kenya, Zambia and Ghana, Alive and Kicking achieves its charitable objectives: generating ethical employment for adults, raising awareness about preventable disease such as HIV and malaria among young people and providing durable and affordable balls for disadvantaged children. Paul Smith are displaying 4 football designs for the duration of the Euro 2016 tournament in the store’s antique cases alongside information and images detailing Alive + Kicking’s work. Alive and Kicking’s CEO, Glenn Cummings commented: “We’re delighted that Paul Smith have decided to include Alive + Kicking in their new store display. We pride ourselves on the quality, construction and style of our footballs so to have our products endorsed by an international fashion legend is a real coup.”