Chloe Lew: UCLA brand abroad should reflect university values

Just before my first day at UCLA and more than 7,000 miles from campus, I came across another “UCLA” in the form of a small apparel store in Guangzhou, China.

In the store, I saw bold American flags and a bronze trophy. The single-room outlet was lined with racks of starched button-up shirts, fancy neckties and male mannequins with popped collars. Most strikingly, in a store bearing my university’s name, I saw no actual indication that the brand was based on an academic institution.

Through an international licensing arrangement, Associated Students UCLA allows stores in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Mexico and now Australia to sell apparel bearing the UCLA brand, a gig that nets ASUCLA $400,000 in revenue annually.

Although the student union’s international agreements are quite the cash cow, the conflicting styles and branding of the apparel sold in stores abroad paint a confusing picture of our university – for those who even realize UCLA is an educational institution.

The UCLA name should mean the same thing overseas as it does here in Los Angeles, especially if this branding is to succeed in encouraging international students to apply. While there are obvious limits to how clothing can reflect the campus and its qualities, UCLA apparel should be presented in a context that clearly relates to the inclusive values of our campus.

And given ASUCLA’s authority over international sellers and their adaptations of the UCLA name, this overseas identity crisis is as much the student union’s responsibility as that of their contracted sellers. ASUCLA and the international apparel companies must rein in the spinoff-like lines of clothing that are sold abroad to establish UCLA as a college first and a fashion brand second.

Some stores overseas market the UCLA name without regard for our values as an inclusive institution of higher education. This means that the menswear clothing stores in Asia must be expanded to incorporate women’s clothing. As they stand now, the menswear-only stores are inconsistent with our public mission as a diverse educational institution that provides for people of all demographics.

On a more pragmatic level, UCLA as an academic institution and UCLA as a fashion icon cannot be seen as separate entities. If apparel items abroad bear the UCLA name, they must also show the same emblems, mascots and mottos.

Stores should be decorated with images and props dear to UCLA – Royce Hall, the Victory Bell, the Bruin Bear – and products should be open to the college student demographic, which ultimately means it should be open to both men and women.

Presenting UCLA as a school in these varied contexts requires an extra effort. International clothing companies should make regular campus visits and reach out to students if they want a true impression of UCLA, instead of just the secondhand impressions from our debatably representative advertisements of sun-bleached surfers which do little to further the image of UCLA as an impressive academic institution.

Working with students on campus helps to make the stores about a great story and not just a brand, said Jo Evendon, the creative manager of UCLA Clothing, a United Kingdom-based clothing company produced by Ideal Europe Ltd.

UCLA Clothing, which has stores in Europe, India, the Middle East and Australia, does a commendable job of research and representation already, but its efforts are regrettably stymied by the other contractors that do not follow suit.

Tony Wu, a first-year business economics student, said he experienced this brand-versus-school disconnect when he saw a stall selling casual T-shirts marked by a UCLA sign in a Sam’s Club in Shenzhen, China.

Wu, who had then yet to begin his undergraduate career at UCLA, said that for those who do not understand UCLA’s community pride, a college selling clothes sends a confusing, if not negative, image of academic integrity.

Surrounded by generic clothing brands, most Sam’s Club customers overseas would not make the connection that the UCLA brand comes from a college in the U.S., Wu said.

Further complicating the message sent to consumers, the UCLA sign by the shirts read, translated from Chinese, “representatives of American elite culture.” But this implication of high society associates us with Ivy League private schools and muddles our actual identity as a successful public institution.

After all, foreign licensees should not only be in frequent communication with ASUCLA, but also with each other. Given the shared name, what one store does impacts another, and so a mistake by one constituent tarnishes the entire UCLA brand.

That people overseas may aspire to be a part of UCLA, if only through embracing the fashion, is truly flattering and a reminder that we are fortunate to be here. To take royalties without ensuring their work properly reflects our academic reputation would do a disservice to their gesture to our school.

The appreciation for our spot at UCLA goes back to our pride in our achievements and in our primary role as students. Any additional personalities should take a backseat.