The Levi’s® 501® jeans turn 150 years old!

The Levi’s® 501® jeans turn 150 years old! Conceived as comfortable and resistant in the second half of the 19th century, they endured into the 20th century and became one of the favorite garments in the movie and music industries and among young people protesting the Vietnam War. In the 21st century, they remain among the most beloved garments across generations.

The origin of the Levi’s® 501® jeans and the patent in 1873

The Levi’s® 501® jeans were born in the 1870s from an idea of the Russian tailor Jacob William Davis, who was living in Reno, Nevada. As stated by the Nevada State Museum, when asked to make a pair of work pants for a woodcutter, he had the intuition to strengthen the stitching and the pockets where they were weakest with copper rivets. Levi Strauss, a German entrepreneur who had moved to San Francisco, California, was the supplier of the fabrics Davis used.

The workers who tried their luck in the Western regions of the United States in the second half of the 19th century needed comfortable, durable workwear, and the new pants were so successful that Davis had to involve Strauss to produce more and protect his innovation. On May 20th, 1873, Davis and Strauss registered their patent, the number 139,121: the future Levi’s® 501® jeans were officially born. 

Panorama of San Francisco from California St. Hill, 1877, Eadweard Muybridge

The Levi’s® 501® history in the 19th century

Levi’s® 501® has shaped the last 150 years of habits and customs. They evolved from their role in men’s workwear, matching their suitability and aesthetics to continuously changing needs.

In 1886, the well-known two-horse logo was designed, and the first two factories opened in California to bring garment production to an industrial level. The number 501 has been used since 1890, when the patent expired, to identify Levi’s® pants as other producers began producing their own riveted garments.

The Two Horse® brand leather patch

The Levi’s® 501® jeans, “the garment of the 20th century”

Over time, the leg became slimmer, and the back strap and the suspender buttons disappeared, but their soul never changed. In 1901, the second back pocket was added, creating the five-pocket garment that is still called jeans today; in 1922, belt loops appeared. Denim back then was rigorously plain in color and selvedge.

In 1939, John Wayne brought the Levi’s® 501® jeans to the big screen in “Stagecoach,” while Vogue inspired women to wear their brother’s or husband’s pair on holiday (the first women’s fit had been launched in 1934 for those vacationing in the dude ranches).

In the ’50s, 501® jeans were worn with high cuffs, as shown by Marlon Brando in 1953’s “The Wild One” and by Marilyn Monroe, who wore them on and off movie sets. They proved that, after the Second World War, the 501® jeans became the pants of younger generations who wanted to leave conservative ideas behind. Many people began to see them as controversial garments suited only to vandals, and some schools prohibited them.

In the ’60s, the 501® jeans were worn by counterculture figures: Woodstock’s audience, civil rights demonstrators, pacifists protesting the war in Vietnam, and mods and rockers in Great Britain. Ripped, painted, or patched, they served as canvases to express ideas freely. In 1963, they appeared on the cover of the album “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.”

Over the following two decades, the 501® jeans became popular worldwide, from Japan to the Soviet Union, from rock and hip hop to technology and entrepreneurship. In 1999, the Times declared them “the garment of the 20th century.” Their market is still flourishing, and vintage pairs also sell like hotcakes.

Among the typical features of the Levi’s® 501® jeans, which were created before the zip, are the button fly and the iconic Two Horse® brand leather patch, which has become a distinctive detail of the garment. It does not seem to show any sign of abating and is set to be a reference point for future generations as well.

The greatest story ever worn

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of its 501® jeans, Levi’s® launched the campaign “The Greatest Story Ever Worn,” in which people worldwide share how the garment influenced their lives. As stated by Levi’s®, the campaign “celebrates the 501® jeans’ incredible past and its role in countless historical, cultural, and personal moments in order to inspire a new generation to write the next chapter”.

“The Greatest Story Ever Worn” debuted at the 2023 Grammy Awards with three short films directed by Martin de Thurah and Melina Matsoukas and inspired by true stories. The first, “Precious Cargo,” tells how Kingston’s residents gave 501® jeans their distinctive style when the garment arrived in Jamaica in the ‘70s. The second, “Legends Never Die,” is about a devoted wearer who wanted to be buried in his 501® jeans and asked all his funeral attendees to wear them too. The third, “Fair Exchange,” tells the story of a Georgian boy who swapped his family’s cow for a pair of 501® jeans.

Ian Berry’s artwork for Levi’s®

As part of the campaign, Levi’s® collaborated with the artist Ian Berry to tell the history of the 501® jeans through the biggest denim art installation ever created, measuring 10 meters long and 4 meters high. The billboard is a 501® jeans’ recycled pieces collage and celebrates the main communities who made the garment iconic, from 1880s cowboys to ’70s queers and ’90s punks.

Ian Berry

It is a European traveling exhibit that debuted in Paris at Place de la République on March 16th. From April 17th to 26th, the artwork was showcased at the University of Milan’s historic Ca’ Granda central courtyard for Design Week 2023. It will be in Madrid, in Plaza del Callao, from May 4th to 7th. 

Ian Berry’s fresco in Milan