The Harvard Yard look is drawing comment, not all of it good-humored.
(Robert Mitra)
Harvard leaves itself open to a dressing-down
The Harvard Yard look is drawing comment, not all of it good-humored.
(Robert Mitra)
In the fashion universe, the news from Verus Group was not exactly earth-shattering: It was launching a collection of high-end men’s sportswear named Harvard Yard, under license from Harvard University.
But last week, the news took on a life of its own, dividing the blogosphere into those who either love or hate the slim-cut preppy collection inspired by a New England collegiate look circa 1962.
The story went from Women’s Wear Daily, a trade publication, to the New York magazine’s fashion blog “The Cut,’’ and 24 hours later, news of the Harvard Yard fashion collection blossomed into a viral blog sensation. Yesterday the search term “Harvard Yard clothing’’ brought up more than 300,000 hits on Google.
It became the fare of late-night comedy: Jimmy Fallon chaffed, “Harvard University is launching a new clothing line called Harvard Yard. . . . Of course the clothes are really hard to get into, unless your father wears them first.’’
All the attention has taken Verus by surprise. “We were completely unprepared, and not expecting this kind of reaction,’’ said Verus Group spokeswoman Lisa Silhanek. “I’m truly gobsmacked.’’
Not all of that reaction, however, has been humorous.
“I’m not sure who it’s going to appeal to,’’ said Tyler Thoreson, executive editor of the GQ magazine website www.men.style.com. “I think the basic idea is that the clothes will appeal to people who want to at least dress like they went to Harvard. Maybe they’re hoping to sell the idea of a Harvard lifestyle. But it’s not going to appeal to trendsetters.’’
Regardless of what people are saying about it, it’s the kind of free advertising that executives could only dream about.
“I think it’s always easy to have a negative reaction,’’ said Jeffrey Wolf, executive vice president of Verus’s parent company, Wearwolf Group. “To have that kind of reaction when people haven’t seen the product and haven’t seen the line strikes me as strange. But good or bad, any press is good press.’’
Some of the blog posts have joked that Harvard is licensing the name Harvard Yard to help enhance its endowment. But the money from this licensing deal will instead be used for undergraduate financial aid, said Rick Calixto, director of the Harvard Trademark Program. The university would not disclose the amount it received in the deal.
“Actually, this is not really something different or new for the university since Harvard has always licensed a wide range of apparel products around the world, including upscale apparel items, and has always viewed the licensing of upscale items as a part of Harvard’s overall apparel licensing program,’’ Calixto said in an e-mail.
The Harvard Yard line will arrive in stores next spring with shirts selling for $160 and up, pants starting at $195, and blazers selling for $495. Eventually the company plans to add women’s wear to the mix. None of the Harvard Yard clothing actually bears a Harvard logo. The clothes have subtle touches to show their pedigree, such as crimson stitching around buttonholes. Shirts, sweaters, and jackets are also named for buildings on campus and streets in Cambridge.
The idea of Harvard lending its name to an upscale clothing line makes perfect sense to Ari Bloom, a recent graduate of Harvard Business School and past president of the school’s Retail and Apparel Club who now works as an adviser to emerging brands at Launch Collective in New York.
“Harvard has been licensing its name to many brands in many different categories,’’ Bloom said. “But it’s nice to have something that’s a bit younger and stylish. Let’s face it: If I wanted to get a Harvard necktie before I graduated, I could find plenty that were as thick as my head and not very stylish. My route was to take them to a tailor and ask them to make them skinnier so it would be more stylish.’’
Details magazine fashion director Michael Macko said Verus was wise to license the Harvard name. “Harvard plays a very special role in American culture,’’ Macko said. “It’s a name that is known all over the world. I also think this is something that a lot of guys would wear. From what I’ve seen, the clothes look well-made. They also have a 1950s and early 1960s look, which is a big trend for fall that’s continuing into spring.’’
Christopher Muther can be reached at muther@globe.com. 
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
