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Introducing Agbobly, a New Era for BlackBoyKnits

Parsons alum and Fashion Fund finalist Jacques Agbobly is changing his brand’s name to reflect its broader ambitions.

Jacques Agbobly is ready for a new beginning. 

After months of planning, the designer is ready to reintroduce the label that put them on the map. But make no mistake: This is not a rebrand. 

“I feel it’s more of an evolution,” Agbobly says. 

BlackBoyKnits is no longer the name of their brand. Now, the studio known for joyful knits that celebrate Black, queer and immigrant narratives will go by the founder’s last name, Agbobly, paying homage to their familial surname and Togolese heritage.

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Agbobly, an immigrant from Togo to the west side of Chicago, started the brand straight out of the Parsons School of Design. Upon graduating in 2020, there were practically no job listings available. They realized that, maybe, they needed to take matters into their own hands. 

“I felt I needed to launch my brand sooner than I expected, just because during those times, a lot of things were uncertain,” the 25-year-old says. “After sitting alone with my thoughts and feeling as if that was the end of the world, I really had to go full-throttle and launch my own thing.” 

BlackBoyKnits was born later that year, and its vibrant, chunky, crystal-adorned sweaters quickly became an industry favorite. In 2022, the brand was among the 10 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists, alongside names like Elena Velez, KidSuper, Fe Noel and more.

“I launched my brand at that time because I believe in my talent and in my self-worth,” Agbobly says. “I believe in what I’m able to produce. So why not do it now, rather than chasing work and trying to find jobs that were inevitably not going to happen?”

BlackBoyKnits became a sort of diary for the designer, the products resulting from much self-reflection. But becoming associated with one particular technique or category — like knitwear — can feel limiting. Agbobly felt it was time to finally push the brand even further. There are other parts to the story that they’re ready to explore. 

Taofeek Abijako (L) and Jacques Agbobly at the 2022 CFDA Fashion Awards

Photo: Dominik Bindl/Getty Images

“I’ve always put myself into the work — that’s why I started with knitwear, because I could control my own narrative,” they say. “But there’s so much more to my journey that I’ve yet to tap into… When I first started, I didn’t really have any funding, and a lot was done alone, so I took all of these challenges as an opportunity to scale. The reality is that if I continue to make everything on my own, it’s going to be really hard for me to be able to grow, especially [after] gaining so much attention, so quickly.”

With this new chapter, Agbobly hopes to continue to build their namesake business in a more controllable way, that’s well within their means. They’d like to hire staff, for one. 

“I’m so protective of the knitwear since I’ve always designed alone, but for the first time, I want to work with people who can complement my workflow,” they say. This’ll allow the brand to exist in a more consistent way.” After getting by through small capsules and made-to-order styles, Agbobly also wants to lean into wholesale a bit more, working with retailers while still offering its bread and butter.

“I’m going to be re-launching my direct-to-consumer this year with items that are already made, and I’ll still keep the option to do customized pieces,” Agbobly says. “But a lot of the feedback that I got from customers was that they didn’t want to wait six or so weeks for their sweater to be made. This next step is about diversifying the offerings in terms of products, too.”

So fear not: BlackBoyKnits will still live within Agbobly, just in a new way. 

“It’s not a complete death to it, but it’s going to come back in other iterations throughout my future collections,” they tease. 

For 2023 (and beyond), Agbobly is looking for a few things — “lightness and positivity,” for example, but also “wealth – spiritual wealth, financial wealth and all around.”

“I hope for good health. That’s something that, whenever you speak to a lot of West Africans about what they’re looking forward to, is good health,” they say. “I have to put that in there for my mom.”

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Source: Fashionista.com

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