Brand: Levi's x Highsnobiety
Release Date: July 12 at 15:00 CEST (09:00 EDT).
Price: $150
Buy: Exclusively online at the Highsnobiety Shop, limited to only 150 pairs.
Editor's Notes: Without the Levi's 501, the history of denim (and fashion as a whole) would look a lot different.
The model was the first-ever pair of contemporary blue jeans, launched after founders of the brand, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis, received patent number 139,121 in May 1873. And to celebrate the 150-year anniversary of that occasion, we've created our own version of the jeans.
Limited to only 150 pairs, each numbered through an inside label, and costing $150 (are you sensing a theme here?) the exclusive legwear comes with detailing that can only be found on this one-off release.
On the right leg of the stonewash jeans, our circular logo has been embroidered in a contrasting white thread.
Then, if you spin the pants around, a QR code can be found on a woven patch below the left back pocket. Explaining his personal affinity with 501 jeans and its history in Highsnobiety's hometown of Berlin, a scan of the woven patch presents our very own Vice President of Creative & Buying: Herbert Hofman.
"What's special about the Levi's 501 is definitely how universal it is," says Hofman, going on to explain that: "It really shapes with you and your body. I like that it's very functional, you wear it, you wash it, and it goes back to the tight shape [it was before]."
Considered today to be a wardrobe staple, the highly-durable pants were originally dreamed up to be functional workwear. But since then, they've had a storied history: from being adopted by LGBTQ+ rights protestors to being part of the uniform for '70s West Coast skaters — and all the way up to being worn by Presidents.
The word "iconic" gets heavily overused but when it comes to the Levi's 501, it almost feels like an understatement.
