Participants in the Saint John United Fashion of Colours Fall Festival say the event creates opportunities and builds community.
On Saturday, the festival had its sixth edition at the Irving Oil Fieldhouse.
This year’s edition drew more than 50 people and featured 12 fashion designers from different parts of the world, including Nigeria, Ukraine and Russia, along with live performances and a panel on racism and how creative expression can build an inclusive community.
Model Vidhi Patel said the United Fashion of Colours (UCOF) fall festival creates a space to celebrate different cultures.
“With this kind of stage, [people] can represent their own culture, and by this, people can know about the different cultures, and they learn more about how they do their lifestyles for the routine life and everything,” she said.
Patel added that participating in the event has given her opportunities to build a portfolio and participate in the Miss International pageant.
Like Patel, designer and owner of small business Afri Essentials Juliana Onwughi said the festivals have not only created a platform for her business but have helped her build a community.
“When I came here and discovered [UCOF], I wouldn’t say I knew another Indian lady; I wouldn’t say I knew another Nigerian person, even though we are from the same place, but [UCOF] has brought us together; it brought unity,” she said.
“It has brought us out of a different comfort zone, and we are able to celebrate oneness.”
Onwughi moved to Saint Andrews in 2023 from Nigeria to study hotel and restaurant operations at NBCC.
She said designing fashion pieces became a way to share her culture.
She creates traditional Nigerian garments, including flowing dresses known as boubous, aso oke-inspired pieces, and Ankara dresses, which are crafted in her home country.
She started her business before participating in the UCOF festival, which she joined in 2024.
UCOF supports newcomers and members of visible minority communities who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of colour by helping them access opportunities in the fashion industry through training, mentorship, and networking.
The organization was co-founded by Christine Eruokwu, a Nigerian immigrant who moved to Saint John in 2021.
According to Eruokwu, who is also the managing director, the organization aims to break barriers, combat social isolation, and foster cultural exchanges by connecting immigrant communities with their host community.
Eruokwu said this year UCOF was more intentional about creating unity and inclusion, making the festival’s theme From Roots to Runway: Designing Belonging.
“I tell people we’re not just doing fashion; we are building a community, we’re building a movement where everyone feels a sense of belonging,” she said.
Grand Bay-Westfield Deputy Mayor Erin Toole and Coun. Laura Weil were among the guests at the event.
Toole said events like these “create opportunities to learn from one another, celebrate our differences, and discover the values that connect us.”
Coun. Weil said these spaces are important as New Brunswick works to attract newcomers and make them feel welcome, particularly as the province seeks to sustain population growth.
“We need to ensure that there is a space and place for everybody, and I think this really encapsulates this,” she said.
The organization also hosted the festival in Fredericton and Moncton earlier in September, and next weekend it’s bringing the event to Halifax.
Eruokwu added that this year it was the first time the event was free to the public, thanks to the province, Arts NB and Canadian Heritage.
