In my years spent modeling in the creative capitals of the world, I never lacked inspiration; life working in fashion is hallowed by the haze of an urgent beauty. In New York City, popular restaurants are filled with idyllic voices of artists refining their visions over food with friends. Streets are lined by glass gallery windows through which you might peer into a world of contemporary creations. On every main thoroughfare, you can observe the purposeful walk of locals dressed like they’ve just stepped off a catwalk. These are the signals that culture is alive—fashion is the coursing lifeblood of the city.
Coming to Harvard Law School, I resigned myself to the idea that I would be taking a sabbatical from such a rich daily aesthetic experience. I’d trade it for a solely left-brained way of being in the world, one characterized by dense legal texts and the rigid structures of formal logic. I was wrong in this assumption. Inspiringly, Harvard is actually one of the places where fashion finds foundation in American culture.
‘Ivy League’ style is said to have originated on college campuses in the Northeastern United States in the 1950s, characterized by its clean-cut, modest apparel that has since blurred into the popular ‘preppy’ style of dressing. There is a reason high fashion designers return to ‘Ivy-inspired’ clothing: Harvard style is a reminder that in fashion and in culture more broadly, although we may welcome ventures into the new, we can always return home to the grounding beauty of that which is elegantly enduring. Set against a tapestry of falling golden leaves overlaying a pale-pallor sky, one can derive inspiration from students wearing classic fall staples as the romantic intonation of the belltower carries across Harvard Yard.
White button-ups, cable knit sweaters, polo shirts, and wool overcoats predominate, complemented by subtle accessories like vintage watches and leather belts. These pieces are characterized by clean silhouettes and nostalgic color schemes, typically of muted and neutral palettes. The clothes look like they’ve been in one’s wardrobe forever, and because they transcend trend cycles by virtue of their versatility, they can be. If you accuse campus style of being mundane, you aren’t looking closely enough—it’s simple and hardly adventurous, but it has a timeless appeal that continues to draw designers.
We’re seeing this tendency occur this year on the runways, and it’s not a coincidence—it’s a reaction to the current climate of societal strife. As is posited by some political thinkers, the traditional right is the measured corrective to the innovativeness of the progressive left; the push and pull of old and new maintains an equilibrium that keeps culture advancing without spinning out of control. Fashion is the visual representation of this process. In times of societal upheaval, designers reach for the grounding of conservative styles. The Civil Rights Era was a golden age of ‘Ivy’ style. Pressed trench coats and Brooks Brothers Suits were worn by leaders at the time to demonstrate power and belonging. In contrast, in calmer times, there is a push in fashion toward more outlandish trends. During the conservative Reagan Era, fashion became loud, opulent, colorful, and excessive.
Today’s world of war and unrest inspires designers to seek grounding through their craft. Fashion has been called a mirror of our times, yet maybe it is more aptly characterized as a negotiation with the present—through fashion, it is possible to communicate a vision of what should be as we reconcile with what is. That’s why in this age of turmoil, prominent fashion designers are getting back to the basics, and reaching for the simple, timeless taste found on campus.
It’s this pull toward a fundamental foundation that is drawing designers back to the aesthetic often found at Harvard, and maybe it also explains the ubiquity of the current obsession in popular culture with ‘Ivy League’ or ‘prep’ style (Miu Miu’s latest collection is a testament). Because there is a tendency in American culture to seek to return to traditional values in times of political and social chaos, campus style will always remain relevant as a sartorial safe harbor.
What we are seeing now on runways is the desire to create a sense of balance by giving in to an impulse to a reassuring nostalgia. As demonstrated in designer clothing collections this year, when life gets uncertain in American culture, expect fashion to be inspired by students’ styles on campus. You might allow yourself to feel inspired by it as well.
Savannah Huitema ’25 (shuitema@jd25.law.harvard.edu) is a second-year Harvard Law student and model. Having worked for years in the fashion industry and currently assistant teaching political philosophy at Harvard University, she writes about the convergence of these topics.