Alexander Julian remembers redesigning angels' halos

As a famous fashion designer, a Chapel Hill native, the son of clothing store owners and a UNC alumnus, it’s not hard to see why Alexander Julian has been chosen time and time again to uphold the authentic color and style of UNC clothing.

At the Kemp Plummer Battle lecture Thursday, Julian said he was the person who chose the official Carolina blue for athletic uniforms.

“To have Dean Smith call you and ask you to redesign the Tar Heel uniform was akin to having God call you and ask you to redesign the angels’ halos,” Julian said.

Julian said the first clothing article he designed for the University — the Chancellor's tie — was very popular. The first 60 ties sold for $10,000 each— in 1978 dollars. 

Julian said in a couple of weeks, it will be 25 years since he designed the signature Carolina Men’s Basketball argyle pattern, which was first worn in the 1991-92 season.

Julian said he changed the uniform colors to Carolina Blue, because until 27 years ago, televisions were not capable of picking up the color and it came out gray. He said players wore royal blue uniforms before his redesign so it would appear light blue on TV instead. 

He said the argyle design — a part of his signature style — was his favorite of the 30 designs he sent Smith.

“Coach Smith was the ultimate democrat, and he wanted not just every coach to vote — he wanted every player, every guy who ran the locker room to vote on which of the 30 designs would be the right one," Julian said.

Julian said it is hard enough to convince one person of a design choice, exponential to convince two and nearly impossible to convince 30 people.

He said things changed when Michael Jordan, who was playing basketball professionally in Chicago at the time, weighed in.

“Guess what? Michael liked the argyle,” Julian said. “So guess what? 100 percent of everybody else liked the argyle.”

When his son was a senior at UNC, Julian said he was speaking with then-chancellor Holden Thorp at a football game. He said he decided to convince Thorp to change the robes to a true Carolina blue color from the teal blue they were then.

“I sat there in Kenan Stadium and started thinking about all those kids in teal gowns there,” he said. “And my son, if I didn’t do something about it, was gonna be one of them.”

 When Julian narrowed down the color to five options, he knew the Old Well was the best place to make the final decision.

“I took ‘em in my pocket, went across the street and laid the swaps out on the first step of the Old Well," he said. "I backed up and made the final choice."

Chase Hawisher, president pro tempore of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies — the host of the lecture — said he came to the lecture because he has had an interest in classic menswear for six years and called Julian a fashion icon.

“He and the people who work for Julian’s have an incredible sense for composition and for putting together outfits that catch the eye,” he said.

Hawisher said he cannot afford the high price tag of Julian’s store, but goes there once every couple of weeks to check out the displays.

“There are a lot of ways in which the outfits there give me inspiration and ideas, and can be easily replicated for a lot more cheaply,” he said. “Like to get a suit made there costs $3,000.”

Nikita Bisht, event organizer and Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies historian, said Julian was a non-traditional choice for the lecture. 

“The traditional speakers for the Kemp Plummer Battle lecture are usually people that can speak about UNC or North Carolina history,” she said. “Alexander Julian is more of a modern icon more, more than anything, who is actually a very important part of our campus’s culture.” 

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