1967 was a game-changer for the Levi’s® brand. So this week we’re looking back at some of our milestone moments from that year and celebrating 50 years of music, innovation and style.
Brands across the industry are jumping on the customization craze these days, offering a tailored take on everything from pins and patches to monograms and personalized fits.
But customization is nothing new to Levi’s® — it’s the bandwagon we were built on.
From the very beginning — when tailor Jacob Davis took a custom order for a pair of sturdy work pants, inspiring him to partner with Levi Strauss to patent the use of rivets — to the ripped, patched and embroidered denim you see at Coachella today, Levi Strauss & Co. has long recognized the power of personal expression.
This passion for personalization really started to take off in the 1960s with the youth who were flocking to the Summer of Love and joining the counterculture movement. Customization was seen as a means of self-expression and differentiation from the status quo.
The 1967 launch of the Levi’s® 70505 Trucker only accelerated the trend, with the jacket becoming a canvas for individuality. In fact, in 1973, the Levi’s® brand sponsored a Denim Art Contest, tapping Baron Wolman, Rolling Stone magazine’s first photographer, to compile a book of the contest winners.
In the decades since, our fans’ desire to make their denim their own has continued to grow, so a few years ago, we decided to build personalization into our business by launching Tailor Shops in Levi’s® stores around the world. We’re now poised to dramatically scale that approach from passion project to full-blown business strategy.
“I think it really is a game-changer that unleashes the true power of the brand,” said Simon Haskell, vice president of market transformation. “We are at our best when we are at the center of culture, when we promote self-expression — and customization and Tailor Shops are at the intersection of nearly all our brand values, deeply rooted in where we came from. The possibilities are exponential.”
