CUNY Uses Bodega Cats and Nas Imagery to Turn Campus Merch into Real New York Streetwear

On a dark T-shirt, there's no school crest — just the facade of a New York City bodega. Hidden in the storefront signage are the names of all 26 CUNY colleges, with a classic bodega cat crouched by the door. It's the standout piece of the "NYC by CUNY" Spring 2026 collection, and it sums up exactly what the collection is trying to say: the City University of New York (CUNY) has decided it no longer wants to represent itself the way ordinary college merch usually does.

CUNY is one of the largest public university systems in the country, with 26 colleges spread across New York City's five boroughs and a total enrollment of 247,000 students. This time, the "NYC by CUNY" collection was led directly by the university itself, elevating campus bookstore merch into a full-fledged streetwear line. Beyond the bodega-themed tee, there's also a charcoal-gray metallic tee paying tribute to Queensbridge-born rap legend Nas, recapturing the pearlescent print texture of turn-of-the-millennium East Coast hip-hop.

The rest of the pieces blend campus everyday wear with New York souvenir vibes: a heavily washed denim tote bag designed for students constantly on the move across campus; a beige NYC souvenir tee cut in classic ringer style; and two collegiate tees, one in forest camo and one in classic red plaid — one channeling Ivy League polish, the other rooted in raw street texture, deliberately letting both languages coexist on the same garment.

The People Behind the Design, the Shoot, and the Wear Are All CUNY's Own

What's really worth noting about this collection is the credits list. It was designed by Baruch College graduates Milton Gordon and Vera Rilossi (who also graduated from BMCC), shot by Hunter College graduate Stanley Ligon, and every single model featured is a current CUNY student.

The shoot locations weren't chosen at random either. The collegiate tee series was shot in Baruch College's Oak Room, preserving its wood-carved, academic atmosphere; the rest of the collection was photographed on the campus of Lehman College, a nod to the Bronx — one of the birthplaces of hip-hop and streetwear culture.

Behind all of this is CUNY's own student profile: currently, half of undergraduate students come from families earning less than $30,000 a year, and 71% are the first in their family to attend college. Additionally, 82% of incoming freshmen graduated from New York City's public school system, and 82% of graduates choose to stay and live in the five boroughs. Handing the design over to alumni and choosing Lehman College over an Ivy-style studio setting is, in a way, giving those numbers a visual language that actually matches them.

The collection is available for purchase through CUNY's official page at cuny.edu/collegiate . Pricing and individual release dates have not been disclosed.