Those Pants of Levi's
Blue jeans maker levi strauss & Co., one of the most famous names in fashion, recently celebrated 150 years in business. In February 2004, the company also celebrated the 175th bithday of its founder, Levi Strauss.
In 1853, thousands of miners, criminals, and those who were looking for gold went west across the United stats to find fame and fortune during Claifornia gold rush. One of these people was a 24 years old Bavarian, Levi Staruss. He tool with him canvas to make tents and wagon covers from his brother's business in New York.
Soon he realized that there was a big demand for strong pants, which would sirvive the hard work and rocks of the goldfields. He used the canvas to make a pair of pants, and soon everyone was talking about "those pants of levi's."
Later he used a tough cotton fabric from France called Serge de Nimes, known later as denim to make pants.A special blue dye (chosen for its good quality) was then developed. It was then that blue jeans were born.
In the 1860s, a miner named Alkali lke complained that his pockets always ripped, and Strauss had the idea of putting copper pins on the pockets. Still another innovation was introduced in 1873. A double arc was stitched on the back pockets with orange thread, represting the wings of the Rockey Mountain eagle This and the back pocket label tab became known as authentic Levi's.
It wasn't until the 1930s blue jeans became famous nationwide and then internationally. Movie stars such as Marlon Brando, James Dean and Marilyn Monroe turned jeans into a statement of rebellion in 1950s, starting the fashion style for a new generation.
In the 1960s, jeans became a symbol of freedom! for young people -new jeans, used jeans, stonewashed jeans, ripped jeans- and everyone started wearing them. However, altough Levi's was still the world's most popular brand, other companies soon started to compete for the market.
Brands such as Lee ("the jeans that built America") had been around for almost as long as Levi's, but, in the 1970s, new youmg brands such as Pepe Jeans started to appear, offering young people a fresh alternative to the traditional Levi's.
Today there are hindreds pf brands to choose from, and all the top names in fashion, from Calvin Klein to Gap, have their own branded jeans. Industry analysts say Levi's has lost the market. Sales have fallen from $7.1 billion in 1996 to just over $4 billion in 2002, and the company has cut 20 percent of its workface, mostly in the United stats.
Levi's might not produce the most fashionable jeans anymore, but it does have the most expensive jeans. As part of its anniversary celeberation, Levi's displayed the world's oldest and mostvaluable pair of jeans: The nevada-style jeans from the 1880s. They were worth more than $40,000.
Source: Viva mag.July 2004
Printed in: Iran
posted by change at 7:44 AM
