Culture & Identity | Varsity54 Journal
In 1965, four Japanese creatives — Teruyoshi Hayashida, Shosuke Ishizu, Toshiyuki Kurosu, and Hajime Hasegawa — crossed the Atlantic to photograph something the fashion world had never quite captured: the effortless, lived-in style of American Ivy League campuses. The result was Take Ivy, a book that didn't just document fashion — it bottled an entire feeling. The rumpled oxford cloth. The beat-up loafers. Students who looked like they weren't trying, but clearly were.
We asked ourselves: what would Take Ivy look like if they had gone to Legon instead of Princeton?
The History of the University of Ghana
The University of Ghana didn't begin in boardrooms or colonial offices. It began with a refusal.
When the British government proposed a single university for all of West Africa in the 1940s, the people of the Gold Coast — as Ghana was then known — rejected the idea outright. They demanded their own institution on their own land. The colonial response was predictable: fund it yourselves.
So they did. Cocoa farmers across the Gold Coast pooled their earnings to fund what would become the University College of the Gold Coast in 1948. Walk through the Legon campus today and you'll find statues honoring those farmers — a reminder that this institution was built not by empire, but by the hands of ordinary people who believed education was worth every sacrifice.
By 1961, four years after Ghana's independence, the university dropped its colonial affiliation with the University of London and became the University of Ghana — fully autonomous, fully Ghanaian, with the power to award its own degrees. Kwame Nkrumah himself became its first Chancellor.
Today, the University of Ghana is the oldest and largest public university in the country, with over 60,000 students and a global ranking in the QS World University Rankings.
The University of Ghana Crest: Adinkra Symbols and Their Meaning
Most university logos are designed by committees. The University of Ghana's crest was designed by A. M. Opoku, and every element of it draws from Adinkra — the visual language of Akan philosophy that has encoded proverbs, moral principles, and cosmological ideas into symbolic form for centuries.
The crest features a blue shield in indigo and gold. In the upper half, three Aya symbols stand upright — the Akan word for fern, a plant that grows straight and true no matter the terrain. Aya represents truthfulness, resilience, and the ability to remain upright in the face of adversity.
In the lower half sit two interlocking ram's horns: Dwennimmen. In Akan culture, the ram is powerful but does not attack without provocation. The symbol represents strength tempered with humility — a reminder that knowledge and power are gifts to be wielded with care, not arrogance.
Beneath it all, the motto: Integri Procedamus — "Let Us Move Forward with Integrity." Proposed by Professor Alexander Adum Kwapong, it ties the entire philosophy together. Strength. Truth. Progress. Integrity.
This isn't just a logo on a t-shirt. It's a philosophy you carry with you.
The Legon Campus: Where Architecture Tells a Story
The Legon campus sits on the western slopes of the Accra Hills, about 13 kilometers northeast of downtown Accra. It's a landscape of contrasts — mid-century modernist architecture set against tropical greenery, red laterite walkways cutting through palm-lined courtyards, brutalist concrete corridors framing golden-hour light.
The Balme Library, named after the university's visionary first Principal David Mowbray Balme, anchors the campus at its heart. The residence halls each carry their own identity and culture:
- Commonwealth Hall — the all-male residence whose students call themselves the Vandals (Vivacious, Affable, Neighborly, Devoted, Altruistic, and Loyal)
- Volta Hall — the all-female residence known for discipline and grace
- Legon Hall — the premier and oldest residence, positioned right at the campus center
- Mensah Sarbah Hall — named after national hero John Mensah Sarbah, known for producing top athletes
This is the backdrop. The architecture tells stories of anti-colonial worldmaking. The walkways connect generations. And the students who move through it all bring their own sense of style — a style that deserves to be documented the way Hayashida documented Harvard Yard.
The Japan Connection You Didn't See Coming
Here's where the story gets uncanny.
Take Ivy was created by Japanese photographers who traveled to American campuses to document collegiate style. But decades before they ever picked up a camera, Japanese architecture had already made its way to Legon.
When Kwame Nkrumah acquired land from Ga chiefs to build the University of Ghana, he was advised against constructing tall buildings — the campus sat too close to Kotoka International Airport, and high-rises would compromise the airspace used by incoming flights. The solution? Adopt the low-profile Japanese architectural style — clean horizontal lines, open-air corridors, buildings that spread wide instead of rising tall.
That's why the Legon campus looks the way it does. Those brutalist concrete walkways. The covered corridors framing the palm trees. The modernist geometry hugging the hillside. It's Japanese design, rooted in Ghanaian soil, built for an African future.
So when we say this is Take Ivy: University of Ghana Edition, the connection runs deeper than style. Japanese architects shaped the campus. Japanese photographers defined Ivy League fashion. And now, we're bringing both threads together — turning the lens on Africa's own Ivy and giving it the reverence it's always deserved.
Some things aren't coincidence. They're Sankofa — going back to move forward.
University of Ghana Apparel: Wearing Your Legacy
Take Ivy worked because it captured something real. Not a fashion shoot — a culture. The way a student throws on a crewneck before a lecture. The way a bag gets slung over a shoulder between buildings. The way golden light hits a corridor and suddenly everything looks like it belongs in a magazine.
University of Ghana varsity jacket styled in a dorm room setting — editorial fashion photography with a collegiate pennant, vintage desk, and preppy layered outfit
The University of Ghana has all of this — the history, the architecture, the culture, the pride. What it hasn't had is someone pointing a camera at it and saying: this is aspirational. This is beautiful. This deserves the same reverence.
That's what we're building at Varsity54. Officially licensed collegiate apparel that doesn't just carry a logo — it carries a legacy. Every Aya fern on our crests represents endurance. Every Dwennimmen horn represents strength with humility. Every piece is a bridge between where you are and where you come from.
Shop the University of Ghana Collection
Ready to wear your legacy? Explore the full University of Ghana collection:
- University of Ghana Faded Blue Hoodie — soft cotton blend with the UG emblem
- University of Ghana Premium Faded Navy Hoodie — elevated french terry with metal-tipped drawcord
- University of Ghana Premium Heather Grey Hoodie — classic heather with premium detailing
- University of Ghana Faded Blue Sweatpants — vintage-inspired joggers with the UG crest
- University of Ghana Faded Blue Baseball Hat — raised embroidery with garment-washed cotton
- University of Ghana Mug — ceramic mug featuring the iconic UG logo
Legon never looked this good. And we're just getting started.
Varsity54 creates officially licensed collegiate apparel for Africa's greatest universities. Browse all collections or read more stories in the Varsity54 Journal.
