Drake's OVO Brings Back Jimmy Brooks for a Degrassi Varsity Capsule

October's Very Own and Degrassi put out a joint apparel collection on Friday, September 25, at 10am ET — the first time the two Toronto-born names have built a collection together. It's made in Canada, sold through octobersveryown.com worldwide and at OVO's stores in Toronto and Mississauga, plus Calgary, Vancouver and Burnaby, and at its location at The Grove in Los Angeles for the US.

The collection reworks the Degrassi Panthers' blue-and-gold school uniforms as OVO streetwear rather than treating the show as a graphic license. The varsity jacket carries a Degrassi C.S. Panthers patch on one side and an October's Very Own crest on the other, a big chenille "D" over the number 86, the OVO owl over "08," and "OVO" running down the sleeve — 86 for Drake's birth year, 08 for the label's 2008 founding. There's a cotton Panthers football jersey also numbered 86, a premium fleece sweatsuit, a "Degrassi C.S." crewneck printed with a panther, Panthers tees in black and heather grey, gym-class-style shorts and tees, a multi-print tote and a sport cap.

WildBrain

The centerpiece is an archival recreation of the jersey Jimmy Brooks wore on the show — printed "Brooks" over the number 9 — which OVO describes as true to the one from the show's early-2000s run. Drake played Jimmy on Degrassi: The Next Generation from the show's 2001 premiere, a regular through season seven before a guest turn in an eighth.

Ben Peace, WildBrain's EVP of Franchise, tied the collection directly to that history in the companies' joint announcement: "Degrassi and OVO share deep Toronto roots, with ties that reach back to Jimmy Brooks and some of the franchise's most memorable years," he said, adding that the timing lines up with Degrassi: The Next Generation's 25th anniversary this October. The partnership was brokered by WildBrain CPLG, the licensing arm behind Degrassi and the rest of WildBrain's franchises.

The drop also lands a month into a new chapter for OVO's business side. On August 27, Authentic Brands Group took a 51 percent stake in OVO's intellectual property, with Drake retaining 44 percent and Vince Holding Corp. — which becomes OVO's day-to-day apparel and retail licensee, running design, production and merchandising — holding the remaining 5 percent, WWD reported. OVO's Toronto creative and design team stays in place under the deal; Vince Holding's plan is to add US stores and start wholesale distribution beginning in 2027.

None of that changes what's actually in this collection: a fairly straightforward piece of merch built around one specific TV memory, made by the label that memory belongs to. It's a smaller, more personal move than OVO's collaborations with the likes of the UFC or Dsquared2 — closer to a school reunion than a marketing push.