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The infamous Levi's 501 jeans

Levi’s is inarguably the most well-known brand of denim, being one of the top of choices when it comes to blue jeans. The brand is practically synonymous to jeans, with the history of the two icons being closely interspersed together, leading to the path of Levi’s eventful history being marked by waves of unparalleled success. The pioneer in blue jeans, Levi’s has a significant influence in the shaping of a product that not only lasted, but has transformed into a classic item of clothing that practically is in anyone’s wardrobe, transcending generations, genders and nature of usage.

With more than 100 years of production history under its belt, Levi’s was established in 1853 in San Francisco, California by Levi Strauss, the genius who would eventually become a household name and who would spark a revolution that is the timeless piece of clothing known as blue jeans, earlier known as overalls. Before the inception of the brand, Strauss had already launched himself as a veritable businessman, running a dry goods business with his family and selling rough trousers or overalls to miners made of a material called serge de Nimes, otherwise known as denims. In 1872, a tailor named Jacob Davis helped Strauss refine the trousers further by adding metal rivets to the fly and to the corners of the jeans’ pockets, as a means of strengthening the clothing item. The two men had the idea of the rivets on the trousers patented. When the company started expanding and designating lot numbers to the products that they had, they designated the lot number 501 to the said blue jeans with the patented rivets – hence, the infamous Levi’s 501 was born, and the rest, as they usually say, is history.

An advertisement of Levi's for the 501 men's jeans

Each decade in the past century brought about different phases in the evolution of Levi’s as a brand. During the first few decades of the 1900s, the demographic profile of the brand was mostly composed of workers, such as cowboys, railroad workers, and other men who worked in rough conditions and needed a garment that would withstand those working conditions. This period associated blue jeans with being a utilitarian piece of clothing. But in the 1930’s, Levi’s began targeting cowboys, and launching a line of blue jeans for women known as Lady Levi’s. When World War II hit, all the defense workers were required to wear jeans as their uniforms, boosting the sales of Levi’s in the long run, but the scarcity of some materials, like rivets,  impacted the brand in the short term and eventually, had to be temporarily removed. During the 1950s, the youth started to be targeted as a potential market for blue jeans, and with film actors James Dean and Marlon Brando wearing Levi’s jeans on screen, the status of Levi’s was catapulted into a must-have for all defiant, strong-willed teenagers. Eventually, Levi’s started using the term “overalls” less and less, and reinforced the term “jeans” to refer to the product that they were widely known for.

An advertising campaign to push Levi's line of jeans which were made by hand

Today, Levi’s is a brand donned by practically anyone, from hip youngsters to vogue women to practical men wanting a functional, useful article of clothing. Vintage collectors even go through the process of searching for discontinued styles to add to the pairs that they already own. From its beginnings of being a utilitarian piece of clothing worn by blue collared men, Levi’s has now expanded its lines to include other types of clothing, such as women’s wear, boys’ wear, and men’s sportswear. Aside from being associated with just the Levi’s brand, the company has also launched other brands such as Dockers and Slates. Many more styles may have been launched by the brand, and the original jeans design may have gone through several overhauls, but the factor that remains the same is the brand’s promise of delivering a high-quality and functional piece of clothing.

Levi’s has launched a variety of marketing and advertising campaigns since its beginning in order to reach out to an even wider market than it already has. The global status that the brand has reached means that Levi’s stores can be found in practically any part of the globe, such as the US, many European nations, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, and Asian countries like Japan, Hong Kong, India, The Philippines, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan.

With the Levi’s brand already etched in history, there is no doubt that the brand will continue making waves for many more years to come.