Few times has a piece of clothing become as popular as jeans, which have brought together classes, communities, and generations, and have become one of the symbols of American culture. Levi’s is the epitome of this garment, which originated as workwear for miners in the West due to the durability of the fabric, and has now become a classic and even a museum piece.
Coinciding with Milan Design Week, the San Francisco-based company has pulled garments from over 150 years of history for an exhibition at the Museum of Cultures (Mudec) titled “Icons, Innovations
The exhibit covers the history of the iconic Levi Strauss pants, from the first documented pair, the 1873 9Rivet, to last year’s 501 Plant Based and 501 Circular. While not numerous, these pieces are representative of the evolution of the brand founded by the German Levi Strauss, a fabric supplier, and the American tailor Jacob Davis. The latter added copper rivets to work pants and collaborated with his supplier to patent this innovation, which was granted on May 20, 1873. Their first creation with these rivets was overalls identified by their lot number – the 501. Thus, the most famous pants in history were born.
“In many ways, the denim jeans are deeply rooted in the history of the United States, stemming from the pioneers who built the country in the 19th century,” explains Tracey Panek, historian at Levi’s and curator of the exhibition.
This woman, who works studying the brand’s archives in San Francisco, believes that the turning point came in the thirties: “The model 701 was introduced, which were the first Levi’s for women and appeared in Vogue magazine. In 1947, a fashion show was held in Paris where jeans were shown on a runway for the first time. That’s when they stopped being just workwear.” Panek also points out the sixties as an important decade in the evolution of jeans when people of all ages and backgrounds started wearing them, “especially young, rebellious, and activist individuals who identified with the cowboy”.
Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, also made Levi’s 501 his uniform along with a black turtleneck. In the Milan show, there are some that he wore in April 1984, when he delivered the speech about the first 100 days of Macintosh, and they were customized with buttons on the inside to be able to wear suspenders.
Most of the Tracey Panik garments are acquired for Levi’s archive through auctions or donations, and she claims to enjoy this search. This was the case with Jobs’ pants and the leather jacket that Einstein used to wear regularly and was photographed for the cover of Time in 1938. One of the most striking garments that doesn’t belong to any personality is the Prison pants, whose author is anonymous. During the over 30 years he was incarcerated (1979-2013) in Northern California, he devoted himself to drawing with a pen. When he was released, he sold the pants to the owner of a cafeteria, who in turn sold them to Levi’s.
Another artist, Doug Hansen, in the seventies bought some second-hand 501 jeans for a dollar and sewed patches on them, adding side pieces to flare them out. These pants were the inspiration for Valentino in 2020 for their collaboration with Levi’s, as well as other fashion brands and design studios like The Factory Warhol. In 2006, they screen-printed “The Last Supper” on a pair of 501s, one of the artist’s favorite works, but it is only visible under black light.
Paul Dillinger is Vice President of Design Innovation at the denim brand and has incorporated technology into many of the garments, such as the jacket with conductive threads that connects to the phone simply by touching the cuff. “My current challenge is to create garments that last and do not have an environmental impact.” His two most recent creations are the 501 Plant Based, made of organic cotton and vegetable dyes, and the 501 Circular, made with recycled threads from old denim. “These pants cost around 00. I think it’s an affordable price for a sustainable product,” says the designer.
