MONTREAL - The international Black Fashion Week is coming to Montreal for the first time, running Thursday, May 16 and Friday, May 17.

The event includes designers as Montreal-based Helmer (originally from Haiti), Rush Couture by Claudette Floyd (Jamaica) and Samuel Dong (China). Also in the lineup are Elie Kuame (Ivory Coast), Emilia Torabi (Iran) and Adama Paris (Senegal).

The event founder Adama Paris considered that the show is not only about colour, but about sharing a culture and differences. The designers from all ethnicities are welcome to showcase their work.

The event is called 'black' instead of 'African' because she considers the term more global. Instead, she showcases designers who appeal to mainstream audiences in an original, ethnically diverse way.

Many designers mix wax with linen and silk. They will use bright colours like purple, yellow and black.

Black Fashion Week runs Thursday, May 16 and Friday, May 17 at 6 p.m. at St. Jean Baptiste Church.