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Shane Kippel as Gavin "Spinner" Mason and Aubrey "Drake" Graham as Jimmy Brooks in 'Degrassi: The Next Generation'
Lifestyle
Drake's October's Very Own Celebrates 25th Anniversary of 'Degrassi' With New Clothing Collection
Inspired by the teen drama’s iconic athletic program, the blue-and-gold-themed collection will be available online and at select OVO stores on Sept. 25. From 2001 to 2009, the Toronto rapper starred as Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation.
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Drake is heading back to high school.
October’s Very Own, the brand co-founded by the Canadian rapper, shared a cryptic social media post yesterday (Sept. 23), teasing a collaboration with WildBrain, the studio behind the teen drama Degrassi, to celebrate its 25th anniversary: “Same City, Same Friends,” the caption reads.
OVO’s post features a basketball jersey with “Brooks,” the last name of the rapper’s character, Jimmy, in Degrassi: The Next Generation.
Drake appeared on the show from 2001 to 2009, before leaving to pursue his music career full-time, which seems to have worked out quite well for him. Most recently, Drizzy broke multiple records in Canada — including most No. 1 songs and most No. 1 albums — thanks to his latest album, Iceman.
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The entire collection has now been unveiled — with some familiar faces. In a fitting yearbook-inspired spread, a handful of actors and characters who appear alongside Drake in the series sported the new blue-and-gold-themed collection — a nod to the fictional high school's colour scheme — including Christina Schmidt, Shane Kippel, Miriam McDonald, Melissa McIntyre, Mike Lobel, Daniel Clark, the school's Panther mascot and Andrea Lewis, who played Brooks’ girlfriend, Hazel, in the series.

Spanning varsity jackets, t-shirts, sweatpants, sweatshirts, tote bags, baseball caps and jerseys, the collection takes Degrassi’s athletic gear and gives it a fresh OVO treatment. Multiple pieces in the collection flex the number 86, Drake’s birth year (he will turn 40 in October). The collection even includes an “archival recreation of the iconic basketball jersey” worn by his character.
This marks the first major collaboration since OVO sold a majority stake of ownership to Authentic Brands Group, which will take over business operations, clothing design, product development, merchandising and retail store initiatives. Drake retains a significant ownership stake and remains involved with the brand, continuing to shape its creative vision.
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Over the past few years, Drake has reflected on the impact of his Degrassi days. In 2025, the rapper was featured in the TIFF-premiering documentary, Degrassi: Whatever It Takes, which centres on the nostalgic Canadian teen drama series and featured interviews with many former cast members. "Man, what a wild journey that started,” Drake shares in the film. “One day, my mom called me and told me, ‘You got the role.’ And I just grabbed my bag and left.”
Back in 2018, Drake rounded up a slew of the Degrassi cast to star in his "I'm Upset" music video, which centred around Drake going to his high school reunion. The track peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100.
The OVO x Degrassi Collection launches Sept. 25 at 10 am EST on OVO’s website and will be sold at select stores across Canada, including Yorkdale Shopping Centre, CF Toronto Eaton Centre, Square One Shopping Centre, Scarborough Town Centre, and stores in Calgary, Vancouver and Burnaby. It will be available in the U.S. exclusively at OVO’s Los Angeles location.
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