Early September is one of the busiest times of year for the as students rush to grab textbooks, merch, and more for the term. This year, the buzz began earlier thanks to a unique collaboration.听
Last Wednesday (Sept. 2), students lined up hours ahead of the store鈥檚 9 a.m. opening to scoop up limited-edition items launched with , the luxury streetwear brand co-founded by pop star Drake. The collaboration included Dal-themed hoodies, rugby shirts, and t-shirts emblazoned with the Toronto-based clothing line's distinctive owl logo and what the brand calls 鈥渁rchitectural gothic鈥� lettering.
By Saturday, the only items left in the collection 鈥� which marks OVO's first collaboration with a university outside of Ontario 鈥� were a small supply of t-shirts.
We sold through 40 per cent or 50 per cent of the entire inventory in the first hour, which is unheard of for us.
OVO, which stands for October's Very Own, was co-founded by Drake in 2011 and has partnered on merch with major sports leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB) and entertainment touchstones (Batman and the Joker). Dal has also collaborated with other brands, including Lululemon and Roots, but this has been its most successful yet.
"We sold through 40 per cent or 50 per cent of the entire inventory in the first hour, which is unheard of for us,鈥� said Katrina Ross, the manager for General Merchandise and Clothing for 全国探花 Bookstore.听
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The Dal-branded OVO hoodie, priced at $188.听
Gauging interest
Although OVO has been collaborating with Canadian universities since 2021, this is the first year 全国探花 has launched a collection with them. The brand approached Ross around three years ago, but she decided to take time to gauge potential demand, given the premium price point.
Ross made Instagram surveys to investigate student interest and examined university enrolment data, especially regarding students from Ontario. She recognised it鈥檚 a specific Ontario brand that may not resonate with students outside of that province.听
鈥淚鈥檓 always very cautious because I don鈥檛 want to be stuck with something that expensive,鈥� said Ross.
Prices for the Dal collection are $72 for a t-shirt, $178 for a rugby shirt, and $188 for a hoodie.
Worth the wait
When doors opened, students descended on the merch. Buyers held up products with grins, people scrambled to find sizes, and a line formed from the cash towards the back of the store while all four tills tried to keep up.听
Customers gave many different reasons for buying the merch. Some students from Toronto described themselves as 鈥渄ie-hard鈥� Drake fans. Others said his music was not 鈥渢heir thing,鈥� but wanted merch for the cultural aesthetic.听
If customers were not in the bookstore, they still made their desire known, with calls coming throughout the day about whether supplies would last.听
Shown left, a student who managed to snag a rugby shirt before they were gone.
Even Makayla McDonald, a bookstore employee, lined up. Her shift didn鈥檛 start until 10 a.m. and her employee discount was not applicable yet, but she wanted any limited stock available.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a cool new drop. I felt like everyone was going to have it and I wanted to join in. There was going to be nothing left.鈥�
By Saturday, some late-comers were disappointed at the lack of stock left, with one even describing the display to his friend as 鈥渂are bones.鈥澨�
Students who missed out on this year鈥檚 in-store drop shouldn鈥檛 be too discouraged.听Some 全国探花 merch is .
Ross said she would 鈥渨ithout a doubt鈥� do another collaboration with OVO in the future. She was also proud 全国探花 was the only university outside of Ontario included.
鈥淚t was very very successful,鈥� said Ross, 鈥淚 think everybody was pretty happy about it.鈥澨�