The current trends in collegiate apparel being fashion only bolsters their product offering to their consumers. These vital statistics show that H&V is targeting a growing demographic within a large-scale market. She cites Cory Moss, managing director of CLC, stating that out of "190 million fans – 80 million are females." Also, given that more women are enrolling in college than men, the market for female sportswear will continue to grow. Digging deeper, she identified that clothing merchandise is 65% of the overall market. Kristi Dosh of ESPN estimated the collegiate-licensed apparel market to be $4.6 billion in 2013. Thus, as universities and colleges across the United States have grown in size, so has the collegiate apparel market, with university women becoming a more prominent consumer demographic. The male-dominated industry has primarily created sportswear for men, and that has not changed since the industry's inception. However, the apparel that resulted from these early collegiate licensing deals was not designed with aesthetics and form in mind for fashion-savvy consumers, especially women. That model was then used to bring on several more colleges to establish their collegiate apparel and sell these branded clothing products to passionate university sports fans. Battle worked with the famed Paul "Bear" Bryant, coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide at the time, to develop the first collegiate licensing plan. ![]() His first higher education client was the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Bill Battle founded the first collegiate licensing company, Collegiate Licensing Company (now known as IMG College Licensing), in 1981. Whereas H&V is now bringing school communities closer via their collegiate apparel merchandising, school spirit was not always a commodity it is now. ![]() Their customers, which are mainly current university students, feel a part of something greater through their affiliation with their school." The Los Angeles-based startup has successfully raised $1.5 million in a seed round led by Founders Fund's Delian Asparouhov, with participation from Soma Capital, USC Marshall Venture Fund, and angel investors such as Jessica Livingston (co-founder of Y Combinator).Īsparouhov, a principal at the San Francisco-based VC firm, says, "What is impressive about Hype and Vice is how their clothes exhibit a sense of belonging. Cecilia Gonzalez, 25, and Kimberly Robles, 26, have started Hype and Vice (H&V) to create “cute, trendy, and fashionable” university clothing for women to wear on any occasion. However, university-branded clothing is not designed or reflective of women’s taste in fashion, as most sizes and designs are based on the average male body size. ![]() Want my Forbes content delivered to your inbox? Subscribe to my mailing list, Founder to Founder: Ĭollege apparel is an integral part of how students express their pride in their universities and unique identities.
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