Models · 083
David Agbodji
Life & Career
- Nationality
- United States / Togo
Growing up across cities
David Agbodji was born in Paris to Togolese parents, grew up in Moscow and later moved to New York. Vogue Italia documented this cross-cultural background in 2010. Interested in visual art from a young age, he studied art in New York rather than pursuing modeling as a single childhood ambition. These experiences preceded his work both in front of and behind the camera.[1][2]
From art studies to modeling
He entered modeling while studying in New York; a 2013 Jamaica Observer interview placed discovery roughly seven years earlier. Seeing a Black model in a Kenneth Cole advertisement helped him imagine himself in the profession. The experience later became a specific professional ambition. His story therefore includes not only being scouted but also recognizing a possible future in an image.[2]
The Spring 2010 breakthrough
Opening and closing Calvin Klein’s Spring/Summer 2010 menswear show became a breakthrough. Campaigns photographed by Steven Klein followed for both Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter. Designer Italo Zucchelli’s casting connected runway prominence with sustained advertising exposure. Those linked bookings remain a clearly documented turning point in his early career.[1][3]
A broader commercial portfolio
His portfolio expanded to Bottega Veneta, Perry Ellis and Tommy Hilfiger. In 2013 he booked the Kenneth Cole national Spring/Summer campaign he had long wanted. He explained that this client held personal meaning despite other major bookings. The milestone complements his Calvin Klein breakthrough by showing how individual aspiration also shapes a career.[2][4]
Behind the camera
Modeling encouraged him to explore photography alongside drawing and painting. Self-portraits were published in 2010, and later interviews described an increasing focus on shooting. Experience as a subject informs an understanding of posing and production, but making a photograph also requires separate decisions about framing, light and characterization.[4][5]
Art and physical practice
Basketball and martial arts also feature in his public interviews. Top Billing introduced him in New York as a model and photographer while discussing art studies and physical interests. These pursuits belong to the same working life, but should not be inflated into an undocumented professional sporting career. The evidence supports sustained interests across visual and physical practice.[4][6]
The recent public record
Models.com credits him in the J. Press Spring/Summer 2026 show on February 16, 2026, extending the documented runway record. His broader story also includes art education, image-making and a childhood across several cities. Connecting those public records gives a fuller picture than campaign images alone, without speculating about private circumstances or unannounced projects.[7]