This content is part of Back To School, a Billboard Italia collaboration with Levi’s® to start fresh with the right mood and iconic style. just like me Levi’s® The 501 arrive fresh on their September 150th, we’re celebrating the relaunch, the repopulation of cities, new beginnings. We do this with a series of editorials on Billboard Italia and a party on September 15 at Ex Macello, Viale Molise 62, Milan. We are waiting for you! Free entry, registration required on He says.
Since the 1950s, this particular five-pocket jeans model has become a favorite of the heroes of a new generation. Marlon Brando in 1953 wore it in a film. wild naturesince Elvis Presley was a necessary boss in his time at Sun Records. Even Marilyn Monroe wears a Levi’s® 501 in the movie. Drifters (Garbage) in 1961.
Bob Dylan flaunts them on the cover of his second album. free running. And it was in the 1960s, with the advent of countercultural movements, that 501 became the protagonist. Did not have folk singer from Greenwich Village, who didn’t wear them. And also those who were part of the great student movement against the Vietnam War.
On the other side of the ocean, not only the Beatles and the Rolling Stones chose them in their poses during photo shoots, but almost all the new youth gangs of the Anglo-Saxon subculture were democratically united by this pair of denim. Whether they were mods or rockers.
60s: the strength of youth movements
During the “Summer of Love” of 1967, we begin to see the first examples of custom-made jeans with pacifist badges and additional embroidery. Jeans are considered the perfect medium for sending messages. With the advent of music festivals, it has become natural to see some kind of blue wave in photographs of children gathered for big concerts. Which apparently happened during the first ever great gathering of stones at Woodstock.
There is an advertising campaign from 1970 depicting this blue wave of youth from the other side. Many then thought that this was a snapshot from the North American festival. Instead, it was a Dutch festival that took place at the end of June of that year and featured many of the artists who were present at Woodstock. This allows us to understand how the phenomenon of festivals spread in a very short time, on the one hand, and the irrefutable fact that young people preferred jeans to any other item of clothing, on the other.
Not only the young people of Europe (except the countries behind the Iron Curtain…) and the USA were captivated by the allure of the Levi’s® 501. In the early 70s, a special movement arose between Jamaica and the world. Local fishermen imported 501 jeans in large barrels, delivering them to the docks of Kingston, while a new local sound started from the same places to take the world by storm. A fair exchange, we’d say.
70s and 80s: creative customization Levi’s® 501
With the rise of punk, 501 retained the communicative power that has been building since the 50s. But if everything started as a declaration of rebellion, and then it also became a means of sending other messages, then from the second half of the 70s and early 80s, the 501st literally transformed into something else.
They were torn out on purpose, splashed with bleach, and scribbled. The uprising materialized even more. New creativity was achieved through imperfection, disfigurement. Patti Smith (with hand-drawn peace logo) Ramones, Sex Pistols. Once again, Debbie Harry, Kim Gordon, The Clash, a resurgent Iggy Pop, metropolitan punks and skinheads from all over Europe wore “their” 501 because they were one of their creations.
The same thing happened with the birth of hip-hop. The early Bronx artists converted their 501s, adapted them to their iconography, Keith Haring’s daughter, Basquiat, and African primitive art.
Even in the mainstream, he continued to have success, sending messages in pair 501. This happened in 1984 with the iconic cover Born in the USA Bruce Springsteen, in this case with a socio-political bias. And with Madonna and her cover Like a prayer 1989, with a decidedly less committed purpose.
90s: golden moment
1990 was an unforgettable year. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the iron curtain is coming down and finally even the former communist countries have won the joy of wearing jeans like the 501.
While a pair of 501s have already achieved their iconic status, no era has been defined by the style of the 501s as it was in the 1990s. Their simplicity and casual style were supported by all representatives of the cultural landscape. First and foremost: Winona Ryder.
The decade coincidentally opened with the famous January 1990 Vogue UK cover shot by Peter Lindbergh, with models Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patiz and Christy Turlington in jeans. It was the beginning of the era of supermodels.
The 90s gave birth to the purest expression of what makes the Levi’s® 501 so special. Worn brand new or vintage, they have been a favorite of grunge star Kurt Cobain and rising hip-hop star Dr. Dre. From NYC skaters and the entire cast of the show Friends. In this case, there was no difference between the Stone Roses of Manchester and the Fugues.
But that is not all. If in the mid-80s the brand’s commercial strategy was already very strong, then in the new decade it has become even more successful thanks to the right synergy of music and television advertising.
Television commercials from the previous decade reproduced the timeshift, reminiscent of music and imagery from previous decades. However, in the 90s, we began to flirt with new musical trends, creating ad hoc captivating story.
It Happened to Shaggy and Song boombasticwith Babylon Zoo and his only hit astronaut. But first of all, with the Parisian producer Quentin Dupier (aka Mr. Oiso), who for the first time in the history of the historical brand proposed a techno composition. flat beat. The advertisement featured a yellow doll with a name Flat Eric. It was 1999, and this is what Corriere della Sera wrote in March, signed by Stefano Montefiori. “Since the commercials debuted in February, the company’s stores and switchboards across Europe have been inundated with inquiries. Everyone wants to buy a doll, or at least a T-shirt with his image. But for now, Eric lives only on television and on the web. Yesterday it finally came out in England. flat beatadvertising disc, and stores had to satisfy thousands of orders received in recent weeks.
The new millennium: an adventure that still has a lot to tell us
The new millennium has seen many transformations in music, but interest in the Levi’s® 501 remains unchanged, even if they undergo a facelift in 2003 to mark the company’s 150th anniversary: the leg is straightened and the size is increased. bottom hole. The back is flattened to increase fit stability and widen the A-shape inseam for a more relaxed and comfortable fit.
Incredibly, this new Levi’s® 501 is very similar to the 1955 model. They were worn by The Strokes, James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem and all those who frequented the New York indie scene of the book/movie millennium. Meet me in the bathroom. And how can we forget Destiny’s Child in Superlows (instead of 501), Kate Moss, who flirted with the rock stars of the time in jeans, Lauryn Hill, who always put out amazing music?
In the decades to come, the love for the Levi’s® 501 will never end. There are artists who are always able to contextualize them, following the tradition. As Virgil Abloh does and who, thanks to the advent of social media, revives the trend, from Sienna Miller to Alexa Chung and Hailey Bieber.
In 2017, MoMA identified the Levi’s® 501 as one of 111 fashion items that have had a profound impact on the world in the 20th and 21st centuries at the show. Topics: Is fashion modern?. But the historicization carried out by the museum, of course, does not stop the adventure, about which we still have many stories to tell.