Step Inside the Levi's Archives
Brand archivist Tracey Panek showed us some archival highlights at the San Francisco HQ and showed us around the Eureka Innovation Lab.
During Super Bowl Weekend, San Francisco was clearly the place to be; in between all of the sporting events, Levi’s invited us down to their archival center located in the denim imprint’s Bay Area Headquarters.
Brand archivist Tracey Panek gave us a spin of the space, showing us a handful of pieces she personally sourced. Panek also took us to the denim imprint’s Eureka Innovation Lab, letting us in on how Levi’s denim dyeing tactics have evolved over the years. See some of the highlights below.
Levi’s Lot 501 Jeans (1984)
Nick Llanton
Nick Llanton
Nick Llanton
“Every athlete who won a Gold medal in the 1984 Olympics got a special pair of Levi’s 501 jeans,” explained Panek, pointing to a special gold tab and gold-plated buttoning pattern. The inside reads “Gold Medal Winner.”
Olympic Team Trucker Jacket for Mark Schultz (1984)
Nick Llanton
Each Olympian also received a one-of-one Levi’s jacket. The one shown above was crafted specifically for Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz – Panek shows us the arm width as the dead giveaway.
Levi’s SilverTab Loose Jeans by Ben Ramirez (1990s)
Nick Llanton
Nick Llanton
Nick Llanton
Nick Llanton
Nick Llanton
One of the label’s first streetwear lines, the SilverTab leans into a more disruptive street-style aesthetic. Riddled with 90’s references, the Ben Ramirez-created light-wash denim jeans boast some of the most nostalgic cultural stamps from the era: Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan, Looney Tunes, and Hello Kitty included.
Air Jordan 1 Mid Levi’s 23/501 Denim Pack (2007)
Nick Llanton
Nick Llanton
Nick Llanton
Nick Llanton
Packaged alongside a pair of 501 jeans and a T-shirt, the “23/501” Pack comes housed in a mahogany-hued two-tiered box, the elephant-printed, highly collectable Air Jordan 1 Mids stationed on the bottom level.
Albert Einstein’s Levi Strauss Cossac Jacket
Nick Llanton
Nick Llanton
Nick Llanton
Nick Llanton
“This leather jacket was one we had no idea that Albert Einstein purchased,” said Panek. “In the 1930’s, when he immigrated to the United States, he settled in Princeton and as he was becoming a naturalized American citizen, he bought this coat and wore it all the time.” He even wore it on the cover of his 1938 Time Magazine cover.
