Jacques Agbobly is awarded the 2026 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Fashion & Design for building a research-driven practice centering Afropolitan identity and diasporic memory. Their work in sustainable made-to-order models is grounded in West African craftsmanship and creates space for minority narratives in American fashion.

The nonbinary Togolese-American designer founded Agbobly, a Brooklyn-based design studio launched as Black Boy Knits in 2020 and reintroduced under the designer’s family name in 2023. This intentional reinvention better reflects Agbobly’s identity, lineage, and creative intent that honor the legacy of women who help to shape their journey in fashion.

“The greatest inspirations in my path have been the women who raised me: They were my first examples of creativity, resilience, and resourcefulness,” Agbobly says. “My mother, in particular, has been a constant source of strength. She braided hair tirelessly, day after day, and it was through this work that she was able to bring me and my brothers to America from Togo. Her hands not only wove braids but also wove the possibility of a new life.” 

Agbobly was born in Lomé, Togo. Their grandmother rented rooms to seamstresses and tailors, and their father sold secondhand clothing, often imported from Europe and America. Growing up surrounded by garments shaped Agbobly’s first understandings of fashion, and the family’s move to Chicago in 2007 set the stage for their first creative pursuits. 

At Parsons School of Design, Agbobly refined technical skills and began to work with knitwear. Within two years of launching Black Boy Knits, Agbobly was selected as a 2022 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalist. This award led the designer to rebrand Black Boy Knits as Agbobly.

Their debut NYFW collection, Bienvenue à Bord, paid tribute to the immigrant experience and honored their late brother. Agbobly’s following collection, Togo Vivi Na, reflects a more introspective journey, focusing on joy and gender expression through details embedded in the prints and embroidery.

Agbobly received the Google Inclusivity Prize from Fashion Trust US (2023), was named one of WWD’s “Ones to Watch” (2023), and became an LVMH Prize Semi-Finalist (2024). In 2025, their designs were featured in the Costume Institute’s Superfine: Tailoring Black Style exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the fall of 2025, Agbobly debuted their first runway show, a major collaboration with a global brand, and returned to Parsons School of Design as a professor. 

“Teaching has long been a dream of mine, and to now guide the next generation of designers feels like a full-circle moment,” they say. “I want other young immigrants and designers who have struggled with similar obstacles to embrace the fullness of who they are, including their culture, history, accent, and journey. Those things may feel like obstacles but will become the greatest strengths.”

Awards and Accomplishments

LVMH Prize Semi-Finalist (2024)
WWD “One to Watch” (2023)
CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalist (2022)