Jacques Agbobly is a Fashion Design major at Parsons, a Gender Studies major at Lang, a New School admissions communication assistant, a sewing technician, an intern at Jason Wu, a student intern for the MFA program in Fashion Studies, and a hall council member at Stuy Park Residence Hall. His incredible work ethic and consistent focus on positivity make him one of the most familiar and uplifting faces on campus, which is why our team wanted to highlight his success.
HC: In a handful of words, how would you introduce yourself to the world?
Jacques: “My names is Jacques Agbobly, I’m originally from Togo, Africa, but I’ve been living in the U.S. for about 10 years now. I would like to describe myself as someone who is very passionate about a lot of causes and a lot of issues that affect the world. I love to interact with people and share my excitement about the things I love with the people I love.”
HC: One of the things that I find so striking about you is that whenever I see you walking around campus, you always have a smile on your face – how do you maintain such positivity with the responsibilities of school and the hectic NYC lifestyle?
Jacques: “I was always brought up to love people rather than to hate people. It’s definitely something I developed early on as a child, but it wasn’t something that was necessarily taught to me by my parents, because I lived with my aunt. As I was growing and learning about the world, I realized is that people love to smile and be happy about the things around them, which is why I express my happiness to people, so they can find it within themselves. I find it a really important characteristic, especially with everything going on in the world, and if you can make just one person smile, then that’s more than enough.”
HC: I know that you excel academically and recently enrolled in the Dual Degree program offered at TNS between Parsons & Lang; what made you decide to take this step in your education and how do you feel this new major can further inform your designs?
Jacques: “I found out about the Dual Degree program last year, and it was always something that I was interested in. Even though I went to a performing arts high school, academics were a huge component of it, which is why this was always a path I was considering. Another part of it was me identifying as a member of the LGBTQ+ community; gender has always been at the forefront of every single issue that I saw on the news, so my major is a way to inform myself on this topic. I want to help my community and know what I’m talking about so I can bring this onto lawmakers and help make real change. Alongside fashion, gender is a huge part of it, and we cannot think of one without the other. We are definitely moving away from that now, though, and I want to be a part of that movement and that conversation by using what I’m learning in Gender Studies in combination with my work at Parsons in order to better my own craft and help my community.”
HC: I’ve seen your gorgeous designs and was wondering which parts of your life are informing them at the moment. Is it social, political, and economic matters, your Togolese heritage, your current life in Manhattan, or all of the above?
Jacques: “It’s definitely a fusion of everything, but why I started designing in the first place has a lot to do with it. Growing up in Togo, I lived with my grandmother, and she rented part of her home to seamstresses, which meant that I was always immersed in fashion. I remember sneaking into the work rooms and watching with fascination as something as flat as a piece of fabric could become a three-dimensional garment. Children are also fascinated by colors, and in my culture color is a huge component, so prints were all over my childhood. My uncle used to make me printed outfits, because in Togo a lot of the seamstresses were men, which is really different than in America. People deem fashion as something only for women, but I want to be one of the men in fashion, so I can bring the social issues dear to me into my work. One of those issues, for example, came about when someone very close to me was diagnosed as HIV positive. When I found this out I was devastated and feeling helpless, but I remember watching “Project Runway” and seeing one of the contestants, Mondo, come out as HIV positive. That was a powerful moment for the community, to see someone who has this diagnosis, but continues to live their life and follow their dreams to the fullest, which helped me push towards my own goals and passions.”
HC: Besides being a full-time dual degree student, you also work two jobs and an internship. What makes you passionate about pursuing all of these activities and what advice do you have for students in similar situations struggling to maintain a positive outlook?
Jacques: “As a Parsons first-year student, there’s a lot of waiting. You have to wait until sophomore year to start your major, but I’ve spent my whole life waiting, so who’s to stop me from starting right now? I’ve always known that this is what I want to do, and I’m not the kind of person that likes limitations, so I wanted to take the opportunities available to me in the city. I don’t like being limited in my assignments, or any of the things that I do, so I always tell myself that if I want to do it then I will find out how and what resources I need to get there. A lot of it has to do with advocating for myself, and when I start showing that to people, they realize that I’m a student who is not going to wait for someone else to tell me when it’s okay to start my passion.”
“As far as advice, keep on pushing, that’s what I would say. A lot of times it seems like you’re the only person who believes in you, but what if that’s the case? There’s nothing wrong with that. It takes only one person to believe in you, and if that’s yourself then that’s something powerful that you can take on. There are so many programs and communities here to support students who feel overwhelmed by responsibilities or jobs. I attend the Monday evening People of Color meetings from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the UC, which was really important for me to find. These meetings gave me a platform to speak about what I’m going through and how the community can help me.”
HC: What would you say is the greatest lesson you’ve learned through all of these opportunities?
Jacques: “Always approach every opportunity that comes your way with gratitude and with compassion. Opportunities can slip very quickly simply based on your reaction to them, so always be grateful.”
HC: Out of everything that you’re working on, is there anything you’re particularly excited about at the moment?
Jacques: “Yes! I was recently asked to debut a collection for the University of Pennsylvania, and although I’m not sure if I’ll be able to take it on yet, I’m really excited to see what comes from this experience.”
Check out more of Jacques and his work at: https://maisonjacques.carbonmade.com!
Photography by Eleni Mentis, Communication Design major at Parsons, and Jacques Agbobly.