On Friday, October 27, Kanye West‘s daughter North took to her official joint TikTok page (shared with her mother, Kim Kardashian) to reveal her Halloween costume to the world. In a series of videos, she be seen cheerfully dancing in a replica of her father’s famous Dropout Bear (more commonly referred to by fans as the Graduation era bear), to the strains her father’s 2007 songs “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” featuring Jeezy and “I Wonder” off his album Graduation, as well as Estelle’s 2008 song “American Boy,” in which West is featured.
From the leatherman jacket, blinged-out Jesus piece, and a luxury gold watch, North nailed the nostalgic look.
Kanye West’s love for fashion pre-dates his Adidas or Gap collaborations. However, once he found success following his breakthrough single, “Through The Wire,” he ushered several trends into hip-hop, including preppy chic. The Dropout bear is a symbol from that era.
During an interview with Fake Shore Drive in 2021, the symbol’s creator, Sam Hansen, spoke about the mascot’s inspiration. “I’m a Polo head, and I knew Kanye was also, so I was like, yo, we could flip this bear on some Polo sh*t but make it a little more sporty,” said Hansen. “And so I have this sketch. I remember just kind of, like, on a piece of paper, putting sad eyes and sketching out and making it look more collegiate and putting a thick stroke around it, and that’s what we did. … We took the head off the picture of the cover and turned that [into the logo].”