As a continuation of the yearly custom, seniors Chloe Cho, Christine Mason, Brian Cho and Andy Kang took charge of the design for the Class of 2026 senior jackets. The creative process took place over the summer and the beginning of the school year, and the clothing rolled out in the fall. From the Glider-inspired fox to the color of the embroidery, the designers navigated numerous hiccups to serve up senior jackets in time for the chilly weather.
The design journey kicked off with seniors Chloe Cho and Christine Mason. “Christine and I have always wanted to design the jacket since third grade, and we always talked about things we wanted to do in senior year. And then, we asked Mr. Jolly if we could make a senior jacket, but he said we needed an art student who could design it as we imagined, and that was Brian Cho,” said Chloe Cho.
After forming a team, they recruited classmates Andy Kang for stylistic inspiration and Brian Cho for illustration. During the process, they drew insight from varsity jackets from well-known Korean universities. “I got inspiration from many different colleges that exist in Korea. I usually respect those universities, so I wanted to emulate them,” said Kang.
With those references in mind, the seniors settled on the fox design for the back. “I came up with three designs initially, but people in my grade didn’t really like it. So instead, Vivian pulled one design using artificial intelligence. And they said it looks fine, so I adjusted a little bit more from that,” said Brian Cho.
When it came to color and details, the designers grounded decisions in student feedback. “I think we always got the opinion that they always wanted navy as a senior jacket color, so we used navy as the main background color for a lot of the designs that we made. We also chose the color yellow to highlight the jacket. I think the yellow is very vibrant. We can see it from far away, and I think that makes the senior jacket look better,” said Chloe Cho.
After the design finally locked in, the team moved on to production, only to face unexpected setbacks. “There was a one-month delay. We placed an order on August 26th, and they arrived on September 16th. However, since the factory made a mistake, we had to resend on September 17th, and the final jacket came on October 22nd,” Cho said.
As a result, the Class of 2026 finally received their jackets just as fall set in, and students immediately began wearing them around campus. “It looks really nice. I think our four seniors put a lot of effort into making it come to life, even though there were some difficulties with the shipping process. I think they found a good solution to fix the problem,” Lee said.
The darker navy and the bold yellow accents marked a departure from previous year’s models. “I really like the yellow detail as a point color and how the yellow stands out compared to the blue we have, and I think it makes it more unique compared to last year,” Lee said.
With Daegu’s winters, the jacket’s function matters as much as its look. “I feel the comfort and the thickness of the varsity jacket. It is warm. I love the cotton. I love the leather part. I think it is comfortable enough to wear even outside of school,” Seok said.
After months of setbacks and revisions, the team felt their efforts were worth it. The custom fox, initials, and bold colors now stand as a symbol of the Class of 2026. “I hope everyone doesn’t have any complaints about the senior jacket, and overall, I think it went well, even though we had hardships; everybody in our group took their responsibility and role, and I think the results came out quite well,” said Kang.
