Top 5 On-Screen Icons Who Have Hyped Up Varsity Style

College culture has taken the fashion world by storm.

In case you didn't gather from the swathe of letterman jackets and faux-vintage college sweats making their way onto the streets this season, varsity fashion is having something of a moment outside the hallowed halls of America's high schools and colleges. Buoyed by a revival in nostalgia for 80s and 90s culture, both on the catwalk and on the screen, the varsity look, which combines bold branding and wear-anywhere retro sportswear to create an aesthetic that's striking and athletic, is more pervasive than ever.

Part of the reason for this is that the American varsity sports system has played a central role in some of the most iconic film and TV narratives ever to emerge from the U.S., stemming all the way back from the likes of Hawkins High School in Stranger Things to classic coming-of-age comedies like Happy Days. These settings inspire an intrinsic sense of cross-generational nostalgia, and it's no wonder that as such, the varsity look will continue to be a source of sportswear inspiration well beyond 2022.

But which characters wore the look the best? Here are some of the fashion MVPs from four decades worth of on-screen action.

Richie Cunningham,

Happy Days

Happy Days served up an almost sickly-sweet ideal of the 50s and 60s high school aesthetic, but we have to give credit to a young Ron Howard's letterman cardigans for starting off an entire fashion movement.

Danny Zuko,

Grease

John Travolta's rockabilly bad boy only discovers his athletic streak late in the iconic musical, but he pulls off his Rydell High cardigan with understated aplomb.

Andrew Clark,

The Breakfast Club

Emilio Estevez's surprisingly tender jock showed that you can give varsity fashion a slightly rebellious streak, layering his letterman jacket over a hoodie, finishing off the look with stonewash jeans and a Nike tank top.

Matt Saracen,

Friday Night Lights

Few TV shows have ever quite captured the heart and soul of high school sports like Friday Night Lights, and while the entire cast is consistently decked out in timeless ‘Dillon Panthers’ merch, no character pulls it off with as much charm as the internet's would-be boyfriend Matt Saracen, played by Zach Gilford.

Jackson Marchetti,

Sex Education

The uniquely American aesthetic Sex Education's Moordale College was a breath of fresh air in a landscape of British teen comedies that usually took place in state high schools, and while the 80s inspired mufti most of the characters wear in the sexually-charged comedy is consistently excellent, it's school swimmer Jackson's (played by Kedar Williams-Stirling) unique bomber varsity jacket that stands out for us.