Levi's

Levi Strauss & Co. was founded in 1853 by Bavarian-born Levi Strauss as a San Francisco dry-goods wholesaler. In 1872, a Nevada tailor named Jacob Davis wrote to Strauss proposing a way to reinforce trouser stress points with copper rivets; the two patented the technology together on May 20, 1873, the formal birth date of the riveted blue jean. The 501 — originally called the 'Waist Overall' — has been in continuous production from that year onward, making it one of the most-produced apparel items in history. The Levi's vocabulary settled around several archetypes: the 501 (button fly), the 505 (zip fly, 1967), the 502, the Trucker Jacket (1962), the Sherpa-lined Type III, plus a deep archive of more specialised silhouettes (Type I from 1880s, Type II from 1950s, the various 1947, 1955, 1966 reissues that the Levi's Vintage Clothing program produces). The Levi's Made & Crafted and Levi's Vintage Clothing premium lines provide elevated entry points. Levi's went public in 1971, was taken private in 1985, and returned to public markets in 2019. The company employs approximately 16,000 people worldwide. The factory in Cone Mills, North Carolina (where 'cone' selvedge denim was made) closed in 2017; current selvedge production has shifted largely to Japan. Few brands have remained as culturally relevant for 150 years while maintaining a single product silhouette as the central asset.