Founders of PomPom Varsity look to foster spirit with UCLA-inspired clothing line

This post was updated Jan. 9 at 7:50 p.m.

Sydney Maggin and Ellie Anhalt are refashioning UCLA school spirit.

The recent graduates of the Parsons School of Design are the founders of PomPom Varsity, a clothing brand that creates UCLA-inspired gear with the goal to expand beyond a blue and gold color scheme, Anhalt said. The t-shirts, tanks and hoodies on their Etsy shop put their own spin on classic UCLA symbols, such as Joe and Josie Bruin, in order to create designs that students can wear both casually and for game days, Maggin said.

“(We want people to) be like, ‘I really want to wear that and that happens to be UCLA,’ rather than being like, ‘I’ll wear this because it’s UCLA, but I don’t love it,’” Maggin said.

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Anhalt said she was inspired walking around campus one day and seeing somebody sport a brown and pink UCLA hoodie, as those weren’t colors that were usually associated with the university. She also said growing up in Los Angeles meant that she saw UCLA merchandise everywhere, and she often thought to herself that she was capable of creating those designs.

Maggin said the pair formally got the idea for their company when they moved Anhalt’s little sister, Amelia Anhalt, into her freshman dorm at UCLA this quarter. She said she remembers being impressed by the amount of school spirit and love for UCLA on campus, especially since she believes her art school in New York City lacked that sense of community.

Maggin and Ellie Anhalt wanted to figure out what UCLA students like to wear, Maggin said. Although Amelia Anhalt, a first-year business economics student, said she hasn’t formally participated in the designing process of the clothes, she does act as a source of feedback for Ellie Anhalt and Maggin, observing what kinds of clothes students wear.

“They’re pretty aware of current trends, whereas I think a lot of other brands that make UCLA merch aren’t, so that definitely gives them a leg up,” Amelia Anhalt said.

In terms of artistry, the graphics of the clothing line are partly inspired by Maggin and Ellie Anhalt’s background in animation and love for cartoon-style art, Maggin said. Designs such as the “Bruin Love Tee” and the “Butterfly Net baby tee button-up” feature different renditions of Joe Bruin playing basketball, kissing Josie Bruin or riding atop a Stanford tree. Maggin added that they love playing around in designs where different graphics and characters can be placed on a piece. For example, the “Soccer Bruin White Pullover” listed on their Etsy shop features butterfly designs on one sleeve, stars on a shoulder and a soccer-playing Bruin toward the bottom of the piece.

As the brand doesn’t exclusively focus on gameday wear, Maggin said the pair looks out for a lot of vintage athletic wear in order to gain inspiration, specifically old university merchandise. Maggin said she loves the versatility of these types of clothes as they can be worn to sporting events and day to day. Ellie Anhalt also said she and Maggin enjoy learning about different movements in art history, and that inspiration tends to naturally bleed into whatever piece they’re making. One example is art nouveau, a movement that Maggin describes as including a lot of organic shapes and being fun to draw.

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In terms of their creative process, Maggin said her and Ellie Anhalt’s way of designing clothes is pretty free-form. One time, the pair decided to upcycle a thrifted shirt with a preexisting butterfly patch on it and chose to work around that design rather than throwing away the entire shirt, she said. Although their creative process comes naturally to them, Ellie Anhalt said she and Maggin face minor challenges when Maggin is in Maryland with her family and Ellie Anhalt is in LA. Maggin said in these situations, Ellie Anhalt is typically the one making and photographing the clothes, while Maggin helps with the marketing aspect of uploading the clothes online and promoting them.

In the future, Elllie Anhalt said she and Maggin hope that PomPom Varsity can expand to the UCLA Store. Maggin said she and Ellie Anhalt have met many talented artists at UCLA through PomPom Varsity and would love to work with them. Overall, Maggin and Ellie Anhalt hope PomPom Varsity can continue to promote UCLA school spirit and help students feel proud of their university, Ellie Anhalt said.

“If they’re wearing something that is unique and cute and feels like it suits their happiness to be there, … I think I just want to encourage that spirit,” Ellie Anhalt said.