Starting the Semester in Fashion

As another school year begins, the Nikes and Adidas of the world are releasing fresh new items as part of their new and ongoing deals for collegiate sportswear and related merchandise. At the same time, streetwear and other fashion labels outside the realm of traditional collegiate licensing are increasingly pairing with universities for new fashion-forward collections. The latter appeal not only to students, alumni, and collegiate sports fans, but fashion-savvy customers with or without strong ties to a particular university or interest in NCAA sports. 

Some examples from this year and last: 

• In August 2025, the Collegiate Licensing Company and Stetson announced they had paired for a collection of cowboy and other western-inspired hats tied to seven universities—including Stetson University in Florida, home of the Hatters, which is named for company founder, cowboy hat inventor, and school benefactor John B. Stetson. For all the schools, the custom-designed Stetson headwear, which integrates the universities’ branding into the hat band, is being distributed by collegiate licensee L2 Brands and sold through the schools’ campus retail outlets, with the launches timed to fall football games. The other institutions involved in the deal are all in the cowboy hat-wearing states of Texas and Oklahoma: Texas A&M, University of Texas at Austin, University of Oklahoma, Texas Christian University, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State. 

• Pacsun launched a college tour that is bringing pop-ups of collegiate fashion to campuses across the country this fall, starting with The Ohio State University on August 30, timed to the school’s football game against the University of Texas. The venture is part of the retailer’s strategy of bringing experiences to its core customers. All told, there are pop-ups through November 1 at a total of five universities, each timed to a football game. Featured will be collaborative collegiate merchandise for Pacsun from brands such as The Wild Collective and Hype & Vice. Women’s pieces such as tank tops, cropped jerseys, skorts, and baby tees are at the center of the initiative, but men’s hoodies, t-shirts, and other items are included as well. 

• Also last month, the October’s Very Own (OVO) apparel brand, owned by rapper Drake, launched its second collegiate collection, the October’s Very Own Campus Collection, in partnership with the athletic departments of five universities from the musician’s home country of Canada. The t-shirts, sweatshirts, rugby polo shirts, varsity jackets, and hats feature the Wilfred Laurier Golden Hawks, McMaster Marauders, McGill Redbirds, Western Mustangs, and York Lions. All are overseen by U Sports, the governing body for collegiate sports in Canada. OVO’s first collegiate collection debuted in September 2024 and included two Canadian schools, Western and the University of Toronto, along with Cambridge, Stanford, and Yale, and it offered a collection with the University of Toronto in 2021 as well. The new products are available online and in campus merchandise stores. 

• In April 2025, Sporty & Rich partnered with New Era’s ’47 brand for a collection of varsity jackets and sports silhouettes such as sweatshirts, hoodies, shorts, and hats. Available in red, white, blue, grey, and yellow, the pieces were inspired by the energy of Los Angeles and featured the logos and other assets of the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA). The styles were available in the physical and online channels of both Sporty & Rich and ’47. 

• Streetwear label and prolific collaborator Supreme partnered with Mitchell & Ness and four universities for a collection of varsity track jackets, hockey jerseys, hooded sweatshirts, shorts, and beanies that launched in November 2024. The institutions involved were the Georgetown Hoyas, Miami Hurricanes, North Carolina Tar Heels, and Syracuse Orange. Designs combined the Supreme logo with the branding, mascots, and colors of the respective universities. 

• In spring 2024, rapper Travis Scott and his Cactus Jack fashion label paired for an apparel and headwear line with Fanatics, Fanatics divisions Mitchell & Ness and Lids, and Barnes & Noble Education (for which Fanatics and Lids are among the investors and have a long-term operational partnership). The Jack Goes Back to College collection encompassed 28 universities, including nine SEC schools, seven Big Ten schools, and four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Products included t-shirts, crewnecks, hoodies, shorts, sweatpants, backpacks, and snapback hats. Cactus Jack and Mitchell & Ness designed and produced the pieces, which were sold through the online and on-campus retail operations of Lids, Fanatics, and Barnes & Noble College.

These deals not only lend a fashion flair to the collegiate space. They also bring sports and collegiate themes into the world of fashion, a big trend in that industry of late across both licensed and non-licensed initiatives. For example, when Gap and Disney announced a series of limited-edition drops in September 2024 as an extension of their long-term collaboration, the first was a 1990s-style collegiate-inspired collection featuring Disney characters on varsity-inspired sweaters, jeans, cropped sweatshirts, baby tees, baggy sweatpants, denim mini-skirts, totes, and more, for all ages from infant through adult. 

Similarly, Champion collaborated with Takashi Kumagai-designed men’s streetwear label Wind and Sea in June 2024 for a collegiate-inspired apparel collection including a quarter-zip sweater, half-sleeved sweatshirt, nylon shorts, and several short-sleeved shirts, sold through Champion’s online and physical stores. 

And in pro sports, the NFL announced last month that it had named Abercrombie & Fitch its “official fashion partner,” marking the first time it has given a licensee this designation. The retailer has been producing NFL apparel since 2022 in a more limited capacity. The naming of A&F as an official sponsor represents a deeper relationship than is typical for the many fashion drops with which the NFL is involved, and the league said it underscores its position as a leader in the fashion community. This partnership represents just one more example of the increasing bonds between the realms of fans and fashion.