Levi's
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Levi's is a brand of riveted denim jeans manufactured by Levi Strauss & Co.
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[edit] History
Contrary to an advertising campaign suggesting that Levi Strauss sold his first jeans to gold miners in the California Gold Rush, where he arrived in 1853, manufacture of denim overalls only began in the 1870s.
Modern jeans began to appear in the 1920s.
By the 1990s, the brand was facing competition from other brands and cheaper products from overseas. Production facilities in Canada and the United States closed and supply of finished products came from places like China, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Lesotho, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Mexico and the Philippines.
In modern times, Levi’s has become one of the top-10 most litigious companies in the world, aggressively pursuing action against any rival fashion company producing jeans that infringe on the trademark (US #1,139,254) on the Levi's jeans' 133 year old iconic back pocket.[1].
Today Levi's retail operations are broken up into regional bases:
[edit] Products
Levi's product lines include:
- Red Tab
- Sta-Prest - discontinued
- Silver Tab (this line started in 1990 and is marketed to a more fashion-forward demographic; the last five years this line got a make-over to resemble an urbanwear look rather than the traditional Levi's look)
- Dockers
- Levi Strauss
- Type 1 - discontinued but still available in Asia
- Engineered Jeans - discontinued in America but still available in Asia and Europe
- Circle R
- Red Loop
- Tab Twists
- Levi's Vintage Clothing （L.V.C)
- Levi Strauss Signature
- Next Cube Blue Print (N3BP)
- Capital E
- Two Horse brand - discontinued
- Levi’s Lady Style
- Edison
- Black
- Blue
Denim giant Levi Strauss has designed a pair of jeans, called RedWire DLX Jeans, able to control a wearer's Apple iPod music player. The RedWire DLX Jeans will have an iPod remote control and docking station fitted in its pockets, and comes complete with attached headphones. To be launched in August 2006, the jeans will cost approximately $250. Levi Strauss is not the first to produce iPod-compatible clothing, but it is believed to be the first to do so for trousers or jeans. No details of how exactly the owner will be able to wash them have been released.
In 2000, the "Launderette" advert for Levi's 501s was named the 6th best television commercial of all time, in a poll conducted by The Sunday Times and Channel 4, a UK Based Television channel & newspaper.
[edit] Trivia
In early 2006, Levi Strauss & Co. was the high bidder in an eBay auction for an authentic pair of original Levi's 501 blue jeans, paying around $100,000 for the item (Economist, 2006).
Levi's is currently filing a lawsuit against many Japanese producers of premium selvedge denim such as Samurai and Iron Heart, claiming that their products too closely resemble original "Capital E" Levi's 501 Dungarees from the 1800s. Such likenesses are apparent in the styling of the leather back patch and tab on the right rear pocket.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ Michael Barbaro and Julie Creswell, Levi’s Turns to Suing Its Rivals, The New York Times, January 29, 2007.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Levi's
- Levi's Europe
- Levi's Turkey
- BBC News Article 2006 RedWire DLX Jeans
