Le` Bulletin

The current “Industrial Denim Jacket” from Lucky Brand (Style# 7M30102) and the “Legend” version of the same jacket (Style# 7M30103) are absolutely blatant knock off of the Levi’s Type 2 denim jacket. 

Here’s a picture of a Levi’s Type 2 for reference, as produced by Levi’s Vintage Clothing. At various times in the Levi’s Type 2 history it did also sport a buckle back. Which Lucky also accurately knocked off, as you can see.

Maybe Lucky Brand should do a collaboration with Forever21. They could call it “Lucky-21”. That actually has a nice marketable ring to it. Hey Lucky Brand, you’re welcome.

Here is the current Lucky Brand jacket, non “Legend” version:

I opened a store on Etsy.com this past week and I had my first sale today! I’m pretty stoked. I’ll soon be sending off a vintage American made denim dress to an anxiously awaiting customer in London, England.

The store is Garment Rescue Mission.

I rehabilitate and resale clothes for both men and women. I specialize in American made denim, and better garments manufactured in the USA, Italy, France, and Hong Kong.

I started off posting only three garments, down to two now. More is on the way though for sure. If you like what I’m doing, which is giving quality garments a little TLC and an extended lease on life, there’s a place at the very bottom left of the store page for a Facebook “Like”. I’d appreciate it.

You can click on the store crest below to open up the store’s page in a new window. Thx!

Two thirds of the responses I get when I tell people my goal after graduation is to design at Levi’s in Sanfrancisco are ”Why?”  or “Good, ‘cause Levi’s needs help.”   Conveying the feeling that to them Levi’s is a dying brand.  They cite brands like 7 for Mankind, Diesel, and Citizens for Humanity as the brands that ”the cool” people want these days…and it’s what they have in their closets themselves.  “Levi’s are sold in K-Mart for chrissake!” is also a common reaction.

Well, it’s easy to see why they have this opininon about Levi’s.  It’s because they are not a Levi’s customer.  They don’t look for Levi’s, and Levi’s marketing dollars aren’t looking for them.  I should give the disclaimer that 99% of the time when I’m referencing Levi’s I’m talking about the Levi’s products and customers of the Levi’s boutique stores and levis.com.  “The Levi’s Only stores are the ultimate expression of the brand,” as the corporate literature goes, and after working at Levi’s for about seven months now I feel like I have a fairly good understanding of what and who Levi’s is aming for.  I’ll discuss the other retail channels that Levi’s is in a little later.

Let’s put Levi’s in some perspective.  First, Levi’s was founded in 1853, and is responsible for inventing the 5-pocket jean as we know it today.  For comparison, Levi’s is 15 years older than Oregon State University, which is home to the oldest dormitory west of the Mississippi River.  Diesel SpA began in 1978, which is only one year older than I am.  In the recent economic recession Levi’s actually bought companies.  Over at Jaguar they have a saying that goes:  “As long as there is an England, there will always be Jaguar.”  I would bet money that the same holds true for Levi’s and the United States.  if I were a betting man.  So just who are Levi’s customers?  There is a handful of distinct groups.  I’ll break down the key ones for you in the next section. 

Levi’s Customers

In the younger age bracket we have what are commonly known as the “Hipsters”.  These are the kids who, if they were around twenty years ago, they were the ones listening to R.E.M., Violent Femmes, the whole “College Radio” scene.  Today they listen to The Decemberists, The Shins, and various obscure indie rock bands and singer/songwriters.  They wear the super skinny jeans, a beanie all 4 seasons, and aren’t afraid to clash colors.  This is the new generation of Levi’s customer.

The second group are the fanatics, the “denimheads”, the collectors.  Levi’s has a line called Levi’s Vintage Clothing, or “LVC” for short.  Everything this label puts out is limited, and made in the USA.  Sometimes they do extremely limited pieces, like painstakingly accurate recreations of 1901 Levi’s 501’s that retail for $501.  You don’t find those at K-Mart, more about that later.

A third major group are what I would call the “purists”.  Somehow, at some point in the customer’s lives Levi’s became a touchstone.  From that point on, that’s all they wear.  These customers like their jeans clean.  Not a lot of wash to them, little to no prefabricated distressing.  To them buying a new pair of Levi’s is like an artist buying a blank canvas from the art store.  As they wear them the creasing, the fading, the wear marks, it will all be personal.  Those jeans will become their jeans.

The last distinct group of Levi’s customers I’ll highlight are the “traditionalists”.  These are typically older customers, and they have a tradition.  The tradition is at the same time every year they go buy 2, 3, or 4 pairs of the same jean, and that’s their denim purchase for the year.  Boom.  Done.

Levi’s Retail Channels

The fashion cred of Levi’s takes some hits due to the fact that Levi’s sells variations of the label at every level of the retail strata, including discount retailers like Target, K-Mart, and Wal-Mart.  There are several schools of thought concerning the approach to branding, sales, etc, but if we look at it from a very sales driven perspective it makes financial sense. 

The buying culture in America is so incredibily discount driven.  Who pays retail these days?  No one.  You with your 7 for All Mankinds, Citizens, and True Religion denim, did you pay retail for those or did you get them at Nordstrom Rack?  I’ve begun to see LVC pieces at the downtown Portland Nordstrom Rack recently too; great deals.  So with the more and more of the spending dollars ending up at retail stores like the Targets and K-Marts, it makes sense to have a product presense there.  Much like 7 for All Mankind and Diesel are starting to show up in better Macy’s stores lately; reaching a broader audience.

Expanding Up(scale)

Levi’s hasn’t difussed only downward in to the lower pricepoints of apparel retail.  Levi’s is constantly innovating and collaborating with other designers and brands.  Recent collaborations have included the artist Shepard Fairey, clothing brands Opening Ceremony, Operations, Engineered Garments, J.Crew, 686, and designer Robert Geller.

The next incarnation is the Levi’s XX line.  Information is very tight lipped about this new project.  Rumor has it than an Italian designer, with buuco cred from his time at Diesel, is heading up the design of the new Levi’s XX line.  Denimheads are very excited about it.

So There…

These are the facets of Levi’s that make me want to design there, and I’ve only touched on the North American stuff.  The Levi’s Engineered Denim sold primarily in the UK is some awesome stuff too.  There’s so much more to Levi’s than the Signature line that you see at Wal-Mart and Target when you’re buying your toilet paper and face wash.  Where do I fit in the lexicon of Levi’s customers?  I’m a little bit in the “purist” fold.  My favorite jeans are un-shrunk shrink-to-fits.  They are the original jean and the epitome of the blank canvas concept.

Below are links to Levi’s videos that feature the “cool” Levi’s customer.  If you’re of the opinion that Levi’s is an old, fuddy-duddy brand I think you’ll be surprised what you see here:

Womens Video
Mens Video
Spring 2010 Video

So if your arguement is that Levi’s just don’t fit your personal style, or that Levi’s cuts just don’t fit you right, then I’ll buy that.  After 157 years Levi’s has survived more than a few economic hardships and more fashion cycles and fads to know a thing or two about remaining successful and relevent.