From past to present: The story of Levi’s® 501® jeans
When Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis partnered in 1873 to patent their copper riveted waist overalls – as jeans were first referred to - for the miners and cowboys of the American West little did they know they know that their blue jeans would one day become one of the most classic fashion items of all time.
Born from the need of stronger waist overalls, the XX jean had copper rivets at the point of strain. Levi Strauss and his business partner Jacob Davis, a tailor, received the US patent for their product on May 20th, 1873 which is considered the birth date of the blue jeans, Levi’s® 501® jeans.
These first pair of blue jeans featured a cinch and buckle on the back of the waistband, which along with suspender buttons kept the pants in place no matter what kind of rough work their owner was doing. The Arcuate stitch design on the back pocket has been a feature since Levi’s® 501® jeans were first made, making it one of the oldest clothing trademarks in use today. In 1886 the Two Horse leather design was added to the back leather patch to further identify the brand. With the evolving needs of each generation, design features were altered and updated. For example, in 1922 belt loops were introduced as men started wearing their pants with belts. In 1936 the distinctive Red Tab was placed on the right back hand pocket to further differentiate Levi’s® jeans from imitators and then in 1971 the big ‘E’ in Levi’s® was changed to a small one.
No other product has been interpreted, styled or re-imagined as much as Levi’s® 501® jeans - they have shaped and influenced the fashion world as we know it today. Over the years not only have they become one of the most revered items of clothing – having been titled Time Magazine’s ‘Fashion Item of the 20th Century’ – they have
Programme Highlights:
- Local celebrities, Felicia Chin, Tosh Zhang, Ya Hui and Ian Fang showcased their interpretation of Levi’s® 501®.
- The celebrities each will take turns to dress up an 8 DAYS male model based on their personal style interpretation, whom has already been attired in a pair of Levi’s® 501® jeans.
- A photo booth to take a picture of your unique style interpretation.
- Photos of those dressed in Levi’s® 501® jeans will be entered into the Levi’s® 501® interpretation contest.
I got the chance to be part of this star-studded event as a blogger, all thanks to omy.sg. When I got there, there were already other bloggers who had reached, and also, camped right in front of the audience section were Ya Hui's fans. Saw some familiar faces from the previous event, Bugis Junction Food Trail. CK is also here for the event. Real happy to see someone I know.
Ya Hui's fans, all dressed in red. The fan shirt is printed with her name. Heard from the idol herself, later in the event, the fans came as early as 9 plus in the morning. Wow... Gotta salute these fans.
On either sides of the runway were two rows of chairs. On each chair, there were Levi's paper bags filled with goodies, a $40 voucher and a voting sticker. The sticker is to be used in one of the programmes.
Before the event starts, we were given a chance to take photo with the four celebrities. Man~ Are they TALL. I feel so short and stumpy standing next to them. Heh. I didn't post the photo of me with them. The composition was not very flattering to all 5 of us =P
And finally, Ivy Tan, YES 933FM DJ and the host, kicked off the event. She's a very capable lady, able to host fluently in both English and Mandarin. She looks very different real life and in photo.
Here they are. The four celebrities are dressed in Levi’s® 501® jeans and Levi’s® apparels. The celebrities chose their own style and dressed up themselves. Yahui chose a semi casual yet funky style. I love her black jacket. Felicia chose a boyfriend look, with the shirt worn in a unique way and a mens' Levi’s® 501® jeans. Tosh is dressed hip and comfy, baggy Levi’s® 501® jeans for easy movements for his street dance moves. Ian is dressed in a smart casual look.
Sitting close to the runway, I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or a bad thing. Haha.. Can be close to the celebrities, take close ups shots, but too close till the photos didn't come out as good.
First game of the event, each celebrity is paired with an audience. The pair is given a set of arrow stickers, labelled with names of parts of the Levis 501 jeans. The first pair who finished labelling is Felicia's team.
The group photo of celebrities and contestants from the first game. Congrats to the contestants!
Next up, each celebrity will take turns to dress up an 8 DAYS male model based on their personal style interpretation. The models have already been attired in a pair of Levi’s® 501® jeans. Woah.. The guys are cute and fit =P duh ya of cos right.. they are models..
The celebrities and their masterpieces. Together with stylist, Steve, the celebrities dressed up their models. Looks good right? I like all the outfits. And they look real good on the male models. Suits their outlook, personality and the style or message the celebrities wish to convey. All the styles are suitable for different kinds of occasions.
After parading their outfits with their celebrities down the runway, the male models are sent out to the "masses", to get votes from the audience. All those with a voting sticker are able to vote for their favourite outfit by pasting the sticker on the model. That's alot of stickers.
The models are then recalled back after a period of time to allow the crew to count the number of voting stickers on them.
And we have a winner! The outfit styled by Ya Hui got the MOST votes. Congrats!
The celebrities will randomly pick a voting sticker from the male models and the owner of the voting sticker will get the tops/jumper/jacket/shirt that the male model is wearing respectively. The winner from Ya Hui's pick will get the entire outfit the male model is wearing. All prizes courtesy of Levi's. That's so cool. Too bad I wasn't lucky enough to be chosen.
Here are the celebrities with their male models and the winners. Congrats to all the winners!
The event is coming to an end. The celebrities took an official group photo with Ivy.
Headed for the photo booth when the event ended. Hee.. Got a printed photo in a paper frame as memento, though not very photogenic. Haha.. Here's what are in the Levi's goodie bag. A Pokka can drink, Uca Cassava chips, Shokubutsu shower foam and two Levis vouchers. Thanks to omy.sg for the invitation and Levi's for a chance to be part of the event. Happy 140 Anniversary to Levi's~
Here's the gallery of the photos taken (hmm not chronically ordered *scratch-head*)
Contest
Log on to Levis501.com.sg from April 8 to share your 501® style interpretation!
Simply upload a photo of yourself in a pair of Levi’s® 501® jeans, and include a short write-up explaining your style inspiration. The top 5 styles will each be rewarded with $300 cash & $200 Levi’s® vouchers!
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