There’s a gold box tucked under Jacques Agbobly’s desk filled with photos of their family in Togo. In one, an aunt in a patterned dress stands against a paint-chipped wall. Perfect imperfection is Agbobly’s style guide for combining Western fashion silhouettes with intricate West African prints.
Having migrated from Togo to the United States at nine years old, Agbobly has always been determined to make their designs legible to both cultures: a project they describe as existing in the “in-between space.” In this liminal space, one’s desire to belong juts up against the beauty and complexity of being unsettled. This is seen most intricately in a trenchcoat piece from their Bienvenue À Bord collection (2024). When a 1983 executive order resulted in Nigeria’s deportation of millions of its Ghanaian residents, migrants stuffed their belongings into woven nylon tote bags coined “Ghana Must Go” bags. Agbobly pays brilliant homage to this history, and to all migration stories lived and inherited, marrying the “Ghana Must Go” bag’s iconic woven pattern with colors of the Togo flag and the silhouette they came to regard as the epitome of Western fashion through a childhood love of detective films.
“Having migrated from Togo to the United States at nine years old, Agbobly has always been determined to make their designs legible to both cultures: a project they describe as existing in the ‘in-between space.’ In this liminal space, one’s desire to belong juts up against the beauty and complexity of being unsettled.”
“Jacques Agbobly’s garments constitute a living archive documenting joyful family memories in Togo, West African tradition and history, and their personal story of immigration to America.”
One of the most celebrated pieces in Agobobly’s collection is a whimsical reminder of movement, passage, and placement inspired by the culture of hair braiding. Agbobly’s mother, a professional hair braider, used the money she earned from braiding hair to bring the family to the United States, and continued to braid when the family settled in Chicago. Agbobly’s recollections of their mother’s work inspired their dark green denim jacket with hand-stitched interwoven threads of orange, green, white, and yellow in vertical form. Swarovski crystals adorn the back in a falling arrangement, emulating the cascade of hair braids accessorized with beads dangling from each tip. Jacques Agbobly’s garments constitute a living archive documenting joyful family memories in Togo, West African tradition and history, and their personal story of immigration to America. Agbobly’s successful marriage of these aspects of their identity through fashion confirms the power of adornment to help us understand who we are.
Bottom row (left to right): Jacques Agbobly, looks 4-6, Bienvenue à Bord collection (2024).
Jacques Agbobly is a visionary artist and fashion designer born in Togo and raised in Chicago, who now lives and works in New York. Their work masterfully combines tradition and innovation, seamlessly integrating their intersecting identities into the fabric of their creative practice. Initially centered around their passion for knitting, Agbobly’s creations have evolved into a full-fledged unisex luxury brand that stands as a powerful testament to the full richness and potential of African fashion. After graduating from Parsons School of Design in 2020, Agbobly launched their namesake brand, quickly making a notable impact in the fashion industry. In 2022, the brand earned recognition as one of the ten finalists for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. The following year, Agbobly was awarded the Fashion Trust U.S. prize for Inclusivity in Fashion, sponsored by Google, and received the inaugural “One to Watch” award from Women’s Wear Daily. Most recently, Agbobly was a semi-finalist for the prestigious 2024 LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers.
To learn more about the work of Jacques Agbobly visit agbobly.com / @illinoize
Es-pranza Humphrey is the Assistant Curator of Collections at Poster House in New York City. She received her BA in History from the University of New Haven and her MA in American Studies from Columbia University where she examined American history, literature, and culture as it interacts with countries around the world. Her research has incorporated interdisciplinary approaches to spotlight the Black feminine identity expressed through various forms of performance art and fashion. She has been featured in The New Yorker, ABC Here and Now, National Public Radio (NPR), the Fashion and Race Database and a number of international publications for her curatorial work on the graphic language of the Black Panther Party. Her current exhibition Act Black: Posters from Black American Stage & Screen focuses on Black American theater and film posters from the 1870s to the 1940s.
To learn more about the work of Es-pranza Humphrey visit @_espranzahumphrey