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Gapelii fashion brand has added a women’s line and expanded its men’s line. (Courtesy of Gapelii Fashion Brand)
What began as unisex logo T-shirts has blossomed into a line of clothing for men and women.
The Gapelii fashion brand was created by Toja Hodge of Hobbs and Andrew Akufo, who is formerly of Hobbs and now lives in California. The brand has experienced growth in sales and demand during the pandemic.
“We saw a lot of growth when everything happened with the George Floyd murder,” Akufo said. “And a lot of people were really wanting to starting to support Black-owned businesses, and ours happened to be. I mean, it’s the only luxury fashion brand in New Mexico that’s Black-owned, and even in my area out in California, (it’s) pretty much the same thing. So, you know, we tried to put our stuff out there, and then reach out and saw a lot of people coming from all over the co