The 501® Turns 145 With Flair

We’re celebrating the 145^th birthday of the jean that started it all – the iconic 501® – with style and song this year.

The 501® Day festivities kicked off last week with a star-studded concert in Los Angeles to mark the milestone. Featuring SZA, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Ms. Lauryn Hill and a DJ set by Samantha Ronson, the party was a fitting way to honor the 501®’s long and storied history in the music scene.

“These women represent a range of musical styles and embody authenticity, originality and creative vision,” Levi Strauss & Co. Chief Marketing Officer Jen Sey told Fashionista. “Given the current cultural climate, and the recognition that perhaps women’s voices have not been heard in the way that they should be, we thought having an all-female line up could be really powerful.”

“‘Off with your head, dance ’til you’re dead,’ pretty much summed up the mood at the Levi’s 501 Day x Karla celebration,” reported Women’s Wear Daily, adopting the lyrics of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Heads Will Roll” to describe the scene.

This year, the Levi’s® brand also collaborated with stylist Karla Welch for a special nine-piece Levi’s® x karla 501® Day collection, which launched on May 20 and is now available on levi.com. Highlights include a boiler suit, a fringed leather Trucker jacket and two souped-up versions of the 501® jeans — one with a red patent leather back pocket, another in a wide-leg flare cut. (In honor of this collaboration, Levi’s® is also making a donation to support the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund.)

Happy birthday to the original jean, the gold-miners’ garment that took over the world!