Jolène Robichaud (Jolène Robichaud Fashion Designs)

Jolène Robichaud is a Montreal-based Acadian and Mi’kmaw queer fashion designer, beadworker, visual artist and entrepreneur who runs the brand Jolène Robichaud Fashion Designs. Robichaud grew up in Richibucto, New Brunswick, with ties to L’nu Minigog (Indian Island First Nation).

She is a self-taught artist and designer, but draws on skills passed down through her family for generations.

Her creative practice centres on “hope and positivity, both within the frames of peculiarity and practicality,” and, whenever possible, incorporates upcycling materials.

Robichaud’s describes her work as “traditional with a modern twist,” and draws inspiration from the natural world, asymmetry and triangular shapes. Products available through the company’s website and Etsy shop include beaded jewellery, clothing, ribbon skirts and accessories.

Robichaud is also a visual artist, and her paintings, textiles and multimedia work address Mi’kmaw culture, critiques of colonialism, and personal topics, such as her struggles with endometriosis.

Along with She Holds the Sky Designs, MINI TIPI, Mikuniss Collection, Bastien Industries, Atikuss and Matsheshu Créations, Jolène Robichaud Fashion Designs is a member of the Indigenous Collective, formed by Bastien’s CEO Jason Picard-Binet to promote Indigenous artists and designers and address issues of cultural appropriation, representation and respectful collaboration. This collective of seven Quebec-based fashion brands presented a fashion show and conference during the 2024 edition of Montreal Fashion Week, and a fashion show at the McCord Stewart Museum during the 2025 edition.

In addition, Robichaud participated in St. John’s Fashion Week in 2024, showing her L’Nu Glyphs and Glam collection, which included a one-of-a-kind birch bark corset that was also displayed, alongside her artwork, at the Arts and Culture Centre in Sussex, New Brunswick. Also in 2024, Jolène Robichaud Fashion Designs was included in both the Kahnawake Fashion Exhibition and the Petapan 2024: First Light Symposium. The Société Culturelle Kent-Sud in Bouctouche, and the Galerie Sans Nom in Moncton have also displayed Robichaud’s work, and she has participated in numerous powwows and market sales at locations like daphne, the Montreal artist-run centre.

At the 2025 Juno Awards in Vancouver, Green Party of Canada leader Jonathan Pedneault wore a Jolène Robichaud upcycled jacket, appliquéd on the back with the phrase “TAX THE RICH.”