Bob Dylan’s Custom Jeans Were So Innovative That Levi’s Meticulously Remade Them
Bob Dylan’s ex-girlfriend, Suze Rotolo was one step ahead of the Levi’s design team.
In the early ‘60s, Rotolo would customize pairs of Dylan’s Levi’s 501 jeans with panels above the hem that helped them fit over his boots, creating bespoke Levi’s bootcut jeans many years before the American company ever offered such a design itself.
Prompted by James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown, a film where Timothée Chalamet plays a young Bob Dylan, the Levi’s Vintage Clothing team meticulously remade Dylan’s customized boot-cut 501 jeans for the very first time, which Chalamet wears on-screen.
“I was honored to consult on this film and work with Arianne [Phillips, costume designer for A Complete Unknown] and team to authentically bring Bob Dylan’s early Levi’s styles to life,” said Paul O’Neill, design director of Levi’s Vintage Clothing, in a statement.
“It was exciting to reproduce Dylan’s original jeans with the inserted panel and include unique ephemera in the presentation, ensuring our new collection captures the film’s romantic themes while faithfully recreating the iconic Levi's look of an unparalleled genius.”
LVC's carefully recreated Bob Dylan bootcut jeans, featuring fading and raw-looking stitching for an authentic look, are not only worn by Chalamet in A Complete Unknown but have also been put into production.
As such, they'll be available to buy from Levi's Vintage Clothing come December 20, coinciding with the film's US release, followed by a wider release on January 17 coinciding with the film’s European release.
The Levi's Vintage Clothing team even went a step further.
Recreating a full Bob Dylan outfit, they're also releasing a classic suede trucker jacket directly inspired by the one worn by Dylan in the early 1960s. Ditto for one of his favorite leather belts.
A piece of Levi’s history, Dylan's jeans are the brand's original bootcuts. Now they can be yours, too.
