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BY: Jamil Khan

JOHANNESBURG: At the tender age of 23, Alonzo Brown has a firm grip on the reality of life and the dog eat dog nature of society. He has lived by the principles of self-reliance and proactivity. Raised by a single mother in Jersey City, New Jersey Alonzo has always had an interest in fashion, even while maintaining good grades at school and majoring in English.

He sees fashion as the perfect means for self expression and uses it as a mood ring of sorts, claiming that the way he dresses sends a message to people about how he’s feeling on a particular day.

“I love fashion because it is like an extension of my personality and what kind of mood I’m in. It can tell people to back off and leave me alone, or it can invite people in and show the softer side of me. Fashion gives a certain amount of freedom to people and allows them to be who they want to be,” he says.

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BY: Jamil Khan

NEW YORK: When Myberson Saint-Pierre started his journey with United Colors of Fashion (UCOF) two years ago, he had no idea that it would turn out to be one of the most enriching experiences of his career. He casually recalls his days starting out in film and photography when Ciano Clerjuste approached him to be a UCOF intern.

“I had recently purchased my first camera to film documentaries and what ever project I had going on at the moment. When Ciano offered me the opportunity to intern I took it, just because I needed the credits for school and I figured it would be a cool experience. At the time I didn’t know much about UCOF or fashion,” he says.

Soon after that fateful meeting, Myberson was introduced into the magical world of fashion and his lens could not help but lap up all the beauty it had to offer.

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The legendary poet Langston Hughes once asked, “What happens to a dream deferred?” According to Mr. Hughes, it can dry up like a raisin in the sun, fester like a sore and then run, stink like rotten meat or sugar over like a syrupy sweet. At best, it sags like a heavy load and at worst it explodes.

The options are few, unless you are Ciano Clerjuste. At age 17, his dream of becoming a fashion designer was deferred by unforeseen circumstances. Determined to turn obstacles into opportunities; he decided to live his dream in the lives of the many under-resourced youth he educates in his organization, United Colors of Fashion, Inc. (UCOF) Academy. United Colors of Fashion, Inc. (UCOF) Academy is a New York City-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing FREE fashion focused education and youth development to those who have the desire, but not necessarily the means of pursuing a career in fashion.

Within its four years of inception, via UCOF Academy, Clerjuste has nurtured the dreams of 300 youths from the tri-state area by exposing them to the “behind the velvet ropes” experience of the fashion industry. In addition to educating, Clerjuste and UCOF give back by providing funds and supplies to 100 children living with HIV in South Africa. With the support of an international team of philanthropically-minded, skilled professionals with backgrounds in fashion, beauty, the arts, and business; Clerjuste’s dream and those of many others have become a reality. As UCOF celebrates its fourth year, it invites you to be an integral part in becoming dream makers to those in need.

For more information on United Colors Of Fashion, please contact Ruth Donat, Publicist:
[email protected] | 917-266-4171

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BY: Jamil Khan

NEW YORK – Artists often describe their talent as both a blessing and a curse, due to its wholly fulfilling nature, but also its ability to create anguish and conflict in the mind of its possessor. Although she does not see it in quite such a dramatic light, UCOF intern Sabrina Guillaume has always considered herself destined for costume design.

She has recently graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, but the road that led her to this point is nothing short of magical.

“The way garments tell a story, creates a character, and brings life to a screenplay is something that has always wowed me. I remember watching West Side Story and wanting to dance the Mambo just so I would be able to twirl in a full circle skirt. And seeing Barbra Streisand in Hello Dolly, and Funny Girl and dying to get my hands on one her lavish hats and coats,” she recalls.

Her resume as it stands, is rather impressive already. Throughout her college career she’s been active in the Theatre Arts department; bringing her skill set in various productions such as Antigone, and Bloody Bess as a Costume Designer where she researched and designed costumes in the genre of Elizabethan era and ancient Greek era. Showing her love for education and her versatile nature, she interned for the world premier of Anthropology of a Book Club for Costume Inspiration, where she Researched Muslim women’s traditional clothing and styled the cast according to characters’ religious backgrounds. In August 2013 at the Bronner Brothers International Hair Show in Atlanta, Georgia, Sabrina had the position as a Fantasy Hair Costume Assistant where she assisted celebrity hair stylist Janel Smith in constructing a mermaid costume consisting of hair, fabric, and accessories.

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