How Levi’s Became Cool Again in 2023 | Rise and Fall of Levi’s Jeans & Levi’s 501 Denim
# The Rise and Fall and Rise again of Levis
## The Start: An Immigrant Success Story
The origins of Levi’s is essentially the American dream: pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps by hard work and perseverance, often through grueling entrepreneurship. Though the company is named Levi’s, it actually had two co-founders: Levi Strauss, a German immigrant who started an importers clothing business in San Francisco and Jacob Davis, a Latvian immigrant and tailor who often bought bolts of denim cloth from Levi Strauss trading company.
## Pants for Working Men & Women
The next step in Levi’s growth was when Strauss brought Davis to San Francisco from Nevada to take the lead on their manufacturing of waist overalls as the 501 jeans were then called. Initially, the work was assigned to seamstresses who worked from their homes, but the success of the 501 Jeans propelled Strauss to open their own factory. The scaling of production fueled the further popularity of the 501 Jeans.
## Cross-Cultural Pollination
Whereas prior to the 1950s, Levi’s was a rugged, unisex pant for working people, the hippie zeitgeist of the 1960s paved the way for the jeans to become a cross-cultural phenomenon. In the 1960s, youth became more drawn to counter-culture and ready to ditch the inside the box thinking of the 1950s. Part of that rebellion manifested itself in the fashion of the times.
## Going Public
The increasing popularity of Levi’s only continued to explode through the mid-1970s. As a result of that growth, Levi’s utilized new executive leadership; Jay Walter Haas Sr., Peter Haas Sr., Paul Glasco, and George P. Simpkins Sr., oversaw the company expanding its offerings by acquiring Great Western Garment Co., a Canadian clothing manufacturer that was acquired primarily for its stone-washing technique.
By the end of this article, you’ll have a better understanding of the history of Levi’s and how it has managed to rise and fall and rise again in the fashion industry. Levi’s iconic status and cultural impact make it a brand worth exploring and appreciating.
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