LS&Co. Unzipped
Nov 16 2012
The Biker, Oil and Leather
Levi’s® Vintage Clothing digs deep into the Levi’s® archives to capture and reproduce iconic garments from bygone eras. For Fall 2012, they're paying tribute to the rebellious spirit and renegade style of the American biker.
The era? Think early 1950s, when the term "biker" became associated with a two-wheeled lifestyle. The fashion? White t-shirt, black leather jacket and the 501® jean.
As part of its tribute, Levi’s® Vintage Clothing invited artists and illustrators from around the world to customize black leather motorcycle jackets from its seasonal collection.
The brief was simple: Using oil paints, create something beautiful in your own hand that you feel would look great on this amazing leather jacket.
The result? An exhibition -- Oil and Leather – which not only illustrates artistic creativity, but also showcases another way Levi’s® has been a part of our collective culture and history. It came to life last night at the Levi's® Union Squre store in San Francisco.
Alongside the contemporary, oil and leather collaborations, Levi’s® Vintage Clothing traced the cultural impact of Danny Lyon’s historic 1968 photo-documentary, The Bikeriders. Lyons' documentation of the biker lifestyle helped solidify the leather biker jacket as a timeless style icon. Through a collection of publications, photographs, outtakes and private correspondence from Lyon’s archive, this exhibition offers an insider’s look back to the golden age of motorcycle culture.
Here’s a look at last night’s event and some of the artists’ jackets. The exhibition continues through Nov. 25.
Posted By: Cory Warren, Editor, LS&Co. Unzipped |
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2013
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Adam (not verified) - Apr 27 2013
I wish Levi's would make a denim Trucker Jacket designed specially for motorcyclists. There are just a few details that would make the jacket more appropriate for wearing at speed on the highway. It would need a mandarin collar, because the regular Trucker collar tends to flap in the wind quite a bit. It would need to have longer sleeves to accomodate the reaching-forward position required to hold the handlebars. Lastly it would need a way to tighten the sleeve cuffs so that air doesn't flow up the arms and cause the coat to billow. Just a few specific tailoring touches would make the standard Trucker into a very cool jacket for motorcyclists. Call it the Rider Jacket if you want. Levi's coul make another American Classic garment for the history books of the future...
Editor's note: Hi Adam, and thanks for the input. I'll share your idea with the Levi's® brand team.
Theresa (not verified) - Dec 02 2012
please bring back the '50's jeans that when you cuffed them, they had the dark blue seam showing. It was a boon to us short people. We didn't have to have them shortened because the blue seam was " IN" and nobody shortened them. Saw some in the vintage pictures. I wore jeans when jeans weren't popular. Theresa
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