Walk into any college gear store and you’ll spot the usual suspects: T-shirts, hoodies, a sea of baseball caps. But Olivia Cleary has a different take on school spirit, one that’s captured the hearts of alums across the country: Hermès-inspired silk scarves featuring a university’s most iconic buildings.
In June 2022, the University of Virginia School of Architecture graduate launched Clearly Collective, a kerchief line, but it wasn’t until October of that year that a TikTok video featuring her “Tundy” scarf—named after UVA’s Thomas Jefferson–designed Rotunda—went viral and her business took off.
“I’ve always been really creative, and what’s most fulfilling for me is to make art that has a sense of place,” Cleary says. “When I started out, I’d draw, say, a friend’s block and fill it with all the places that were meaningful to them.” After college Cleary began dabbling in printing her designs on scarves, a side hustle while she worked an entry-level job at an architecture firm. That’s when she created her UVA scarf, which quickly turned into a line of scarves.
“My older cousin helped me with UNC, my sister assisted with Georgetown, and my best friend did Dartmouth,” Cleary says of her Collegiate Collection. As requests for new schools poured in, she tapped into her TikTok and Instagram communities to crowdsource feedback. Naturally, alumni have had strong opinions.
“I’ll sketch out a design and share a first draft, asking, ‘What’s missing?’” she says. The response is almost immediate. “When I made a scarf a little more crimson than red, University of Georgia fans were not happy.” Needless to say, the color correction was made, much to the delight of her Bulldog followers.
Slightly larger than a traditional Hermès scarf to offer versatility, each design is meant to serve as both a timeless heirloom and a multipurpose garment, one that can be worn around the neck, as a top, or even as a skirt.
“I want parents to give these to their kids when they get accepted to college, and for moms to wear them to football games,” Cleary explains. “It’s a subtle and chic way for everyone to show their connection to the school.”
Everyone? Even UVA’s number-one adversary, Virginia Tech? “I’m thinking about it,” Cleary says.
