As sports fans gear up to rep their favorite HBCU teams during the school year, one new Black-owned retail store offers a variety of options.
Defron Fobb opened the Anthony Lawrence Collection store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, filled with apparel featuring over 12 HBCUs. According to BRProud, Fobb’s work and design experience led him to open the store two years ago near Southern University.
“I started in Tiger Mania,
and then my time running that store, that’s when I figured and I looked and I saw that HBCUs did not have just the different options of clothing, but they didn’t have the high-quality clothing that that the big brands were giving the big schools,” Fobb said. “So I did my research and then I just been working ever since, trying to give people something new, something different, something from everybody else.”The designer is preparing for a grand opening at his new location on Bluebonnet Boulevard, which he described as a “challenge.”
“It’s different, but I enjoy it,” Fobb said. “With my apparel, it is going to reach a different audience and just help the brand out. Southern University is its own brand, it’s a unique brand.”
Fobb hopes his collection offers students and fans, like Southern University student Caleigha Hughes, more options when shopping for high-quality HBCU merch.
“HBCU students are getting more exposure. We should have more resources to easily be able to rep our school without having to spend money in ordering fees and all that,” Hughes said.
The Anthony Lawrence Collection store offers merchandise designed to represent HBCUs, including Southern University, Grambling State University, Jackson State University, Alcorn State University, and Morehouse College. The store even
offers options for non-HBCUs, such as the state’s flagship institution, Louisiana State University, and the University of Colorado. According to the website, ALC provides NCAA-licensed collegiate apparel in-store and online in a range of sizes from newborn to XL.Fobb’s ALC store had an official grand opening on Sept. 8, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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