Will Harvard be the new Hollister?
by Mars Riley
After 373 years, Harvard University has started to actively brand its name. One would think the world’s most famous university wouldn’t need to differentiate itself from the other institutions of higher learning; yet they are going through great lengths to do so. The reason: money (isn’t it always?).
Although Harvard has the largest funding of any other educational institution, it has had to respond to the economic downturn by freezing salaries, cutting staff and scaling back services for students. Its endowment has lost 30% in this fiscal year alone. In an effort to turn these setbacks around, Harvard has decided to go down the path least traveled by universities: branding on a national scale.
And this is creating controversy.
The taglines “Managing yourself,” “The world’s thinking,” “Lessons learned,” “Ask what you can do,” and “Harvard Yard” have all recently been trademarked by Harvard. Although it is common for universities to protect themselves with ownership rights of mascots, school colors, and team names, it is rare for them to pursue ownership of this sort. As some editorials have pointed out, owning words and phrases seems to negate what an institute of higher learning should stand for.
In a much more controversial move, Harvard has licensed its name to an upscale line of clothing to be sold nationally. The clothes will be labeled Harvard Yard and will be designed by Wearwolf Group, which makes private-label clothing for Macy’s and Jos. A. Bank Clothiers. Although the clothes will not display the Harvard name, emblazoned ‘H’, or Veritas seal, they will predominantly feature the colors crimson and green.
Unlike the branded t-shirts and hoodies that Harvard and every other university already sell at their bookstores, the Harvard Yard line has been causing uproar because of what it represents: rich preppy kid clothes. With their high price point, Harvard Yard’s seersucker suits, oxford shirts, khakis, and loafers perpetuate an elitist stereotype that many Harvard students say does not represent the actual student body of their school. They are saying that after many years of promoting themselves as being an inclusive campus, this new line of clothing will actually hurt the reputation of the school.
How? By associating preppies with preppy clothing?
What may actually hurt the reputation of the school is being overly inclusive. Part of the reason for the mystique of Ivy-league schools is their exclusivity. By branding themselves nationally, even if it is in higher end stores, Harvard is allowing an outside source to dictate part of their brand. It is one thing to control how people think of you within your own hallowed halls, but quite another in the world of fashion. What happens if the clothes start a fad? Harvard may like the money, but is it good for the school’s reputation to have fashionistas mixing and matching their crimson plaids with ripped, pink tights and canary-yellow pumps? This is probably not the type of branding that Harvard has in mind, but in the fashion world anything can happen. And what if the clothes become uncool, does the school become uncool, too? Will high school graduates start choosing Yale instead?
Maybe Yale Blue is the new black.
