Levi’s history is one of the longest and most prolific in the fashion industry, dressing everything from Wild West cowboys to suffragettes, Hollywood stars, hippies and legends of rock&roll. That is why it is necessary to go back 150 years to understand the depth and importance of a cowboy who has never been just a cowboy.
Who was Levi Strauss?
Levi Strauss (1829-1902) was a Bavarian immigrant who came to San Francisco in full gold rush (1850). There he discovered that miners needed sturdy pants and hired a tailor to make garments from the tent fabric.
He later replaced this fabric with denim, added the copper seams and that small pocket that today nobody understands what it is for and that at that time kept pocket watches in a safe place. With this first sketch of what would be the most successful American garment in history, Levi Strauss and his two brothers founded the company in 1853 with the first headquarters Of the brand.
1873: the year blue jeans were born
On May 20, 1873, the cowboy was born in color denim that we all know and love. This was the day that Levi Strauss and his partner Jacob Davis obtained the American patent in which they reflected the process of riveting work pants to make them stronger for the first time. And it is this act of putting rivets that defined the idea of jeans what came next.
The company would need 13 more years to find the logo that accompanies Levi’s jeans to this day. In 1886 the badge with the two horses pulling the pants to symbolize the strength of the fabric and intimidate those who tried to compete with it.
World War I opens the way: everyone wants to wear pants
We come to the 20th century and the Great War, which forces all men to the front lines and leaves women in charge of manual labor. They also need comfortable and practical clothing and Levi’s answers the call by launching one piece bibs called Freedom-Alls. They soon become the symbol of the new role of women in society.
The first women’s jeans are from 1934
With the war over and not knowing that another new world war was looming on the horizon, Levi’s did not want to lose that new public that it had managed to capture during the years of struggle. The American firm launched its first women’s collection jeans in 1934 called Lady Levi’s and it broke gender barriers in dress, although it would still take two decades for it to be socially acceptable.
“Women wearing pants (especially jeans) was considered inappropriate and unacceptable in the 1930s and 1940s, with few exceptions.” – Tracey Panek, historian at Levi’s&Co.
International success came with the end of World War II
World War II was accompanied by an unprecedented economic crisis. All industries had to save on materials such as metal, cloth or thread to be used in the front. This also affected Levi’s, which had to stripping down your classic 501 jeans to the bare essentials: goodbye to the piping, hems and even back pockets, which began to be painted instead of sewn (as was already done with the stockings).
1960: the youth revolution wears Levi’s jeans
With the end of World War II begins the so-called “blue cowboy craze” in the United Statesstarring the baby boomers. An American generation in full economic prosperity that has the time and means to enjoy the good life and develop a very powerful subculture.
It is the revolution of the youth, of the protests against the Vietnam War and human rights, of culture hippy and Woodstock, the biggest showcase a firm could have ever dreamed of. Because it coincides with the release of the jeans flared, which were born in 1969 and flood the festival hippy most famous of history
1970: Cowboys go rogue and the rock&roll he adopts them as his uniform
The decade of the 70’s is loaded with cynicism and disenchantment with the political and economic scandals that shook America. A perfect breeding ground for revolution of the youngest that came in the form of rock’n’roll, punk and rebels on the big screen. It is the great moment of The Ramones, of the Sex Pistols, of Marlon Brando, James Dean and Debbie Harry. And they all wore Levi’s jeans.
A new era that breaks so much with everything that came before requires a new reinterpretation of the cowboy. The American firm perceives this need and responds with low shots, tighter designs and full of rips and unstitched. We welcome those jeans 505 version underground of the 501.
1990: Levi’s rests on its laurels and loses steam to the competition
By the end of the 1980s, the triumph of the cowboys is already more than clear and it doesn’t take long for the competition to take its toll on Levi’s coffers. Luxury firms begin to manufacture jeans and other more affordable brands emerge.
Levi’s takes refuge in its style vintage to keep it going, launching reissues of their classic jeans with Levi’s Vintage Clothing. The firm struggles to stay afloat, but the globalized denim market is getting tougher. Levi’s is forced to close almost all of its factories in the United States.
2000: more sustainable jeans after years without news
It’s hard to understand why a firm with so much whiplash behind it, such as Levi’s, took so long to find the balance between its historical heritage and what the public is looking for today. Today his jeans are still synonymous with quality and maintain that component of desire who produces the clothes vintagebut still struggle to compete in a market fast fashion.
One of the ways they have opted for is the sustainability in the textile industry, looking for safer alternatives to the chemicals used in the production of their jeans or creating a second-hand buying and selling system to avoid garment waste. A path that continues in 2020.
Another of his aces up his sleeve are the licenses and collaborations with other firms, like the Pokemon one that sold out in a matter of hours or the approach to the luxury industry with its Levi’s XX line. All these changes respond to the effort that the firm is making to overcome and recover that first position that elevated Levi’s for more than a century to the top of the universe. denim. And they have borne fruit, with the return to the stock market of the firm after 34 years.
Photos | Levi’s.