Josephine Simbanegavi, who moved from Zimbabwe to Moncton four years ago, was displaying her heritage for the crowds at the Mosaïq Cultural Festival.

"I'm wearing a traditional dress, it does not have a specific name, but you can see the common patterns, the chevron patterns, that you'll find a lot in my country."

She says the chevron, which is shaped like a V,' is found in Zimbabwean architecture in the ancient cities.

"Also, you can see the use of beads, which is used commonly in this region," she says, "Historically, our people used to import beads, glass beads, from China and that influences the dress culture."

Josephine says that southern African cultures always use beads in their dress and the fabrics are more neutral tones. Animal prints are also used to reflect the surrounding nature.

"Dress fabrics tend to be natural colours, mixing with a little bit of bright colours," she says, "it's very important, it distinguishes us."

In the south, especially with South Africa, Josephine says there's a variety of skin tones, from fair to dark, and this is why they tend to dress more neutrally. She says West Africans tend to dress in very rich, bright colours as their skin tones are generally darker.

"In the south, one picks and chooses what works best with their skin."