Looks like Levi’s Vintage Clothing are riding the Zeitgeist in a whole new direction.

Back in October, I did a video on the Levi’s Vintage Clothing Fall/Winter 20 collection. I looked at the collection itself and how it was portrayed in the accompanying lookbook,

I felt that represented a massive departure from the norm for Levi’s Vintage. I didn’t get it. But with the release of the  Spring Summer 21 collection and that lookbook, I think I get it. And I like it.

But let’s talk about Fall/Winter again for a sec

Now, the FW collection, it was an interesting one. I mean yeah, I’ll admit on face value it seemed that I was shitting on it. But that was not actually the case. I thought that it warranted some discussion beyond just the obvious, run of the mill, “this is the inspiration for the collection and these are the stand out pieces”.

From the manner in which the pieces were illustrated through their lookbook to the choice of the statement pieces in the collection. It appeared to me to be speaking to a very different younger audience, one that is not the typical Levi’s Vintage Clothing customer and one that might not have much interest in the history of denim. Which I always saw as the keystone for Levi’s Vintage Clothing brand unto itself.

Begs the question…

That begged the question. Would that younger audience be receptive to the collection and the would this stark departure from our expectations alienate the existing Levi’s Vintage Clothing customer?

Well, it’s a few months down the line and well, I can’t really say one way or another what the outcome of the collection was. From the feedback, I got on the video and the discussions I had on the socials it was quite in line with what I expected. Some of you were confused, like me. Some of you loved it, some of you hated it.

Hit or miss?

But yeah. I have no idea if it was a hit or miss overall… hard to tell these days with the current situation. Pieces from the collection did make it into the sales sections of some sites, but this is totally parred for the course and well, I have not really been out and about to see the things in the wild, none of us has. Actually, I’m curious, did any of you pick anything up from that collection, let me know down in the comments.

Things move on…

As with all things in life, things move on. It seems that the info on the Spring Summer LVC collection has already been released. A buddy of mine, Robert, @thebluefade over on Instagram, shared an interview from the Denim Boulevard site where the head of Levi’s Vintage Clothing, Paul O’Neill chats with brothers  Matt and Pat Carroll of Central Station Design.

The Madchester scene

Central Station Design is heavily associated with Factory Records and the Madchester scene of the early 1990s. The company created album cover artwork and posters for Factory artists including The Happy Mondays, Black Grape, and James.

It is this early 90s music scene that Paul and his team at Levis Vintage have looked to inspire the Spring Summer 21 collection. And yeah, it is again much more modern, much more youthful and much more in line with the youth culture of today.

A whole new approach?

We could be seeing a whole new approach for Levi’s Vintage Clothing. One that is very smart, very sensible and one that might herald a whole new lease of life for Levi’s Vintage Clothing.

The thing is, there is very little new in fashion. Most collections are a rehash of what went before. It may look new, it may look innovative but the inspiration came from somewhere. It did not just pop into existence from nothing. If it looks new or innovative, then it is likely that you were simply not aware of the trend at the time. A lot of the time the most on-trend folks were not alive when the trend first swung around.

Pervasive nostalgia

The older I get, naturally the more I see these things swing around. Also the more pervasive that nostalgia seems to be in culture and the faster these trends seem to be recycled. This probably goes hand in hand with the fast-fashion… a necessity created by it.

What I see happening

But anyway, to Levis Vintage Clothing. What I see happening here is this, They are riding the zeitgeist, producing a collection that is in line with current trends and therefore opening up their customer base. But there is a difference here to run of the mill fast fashion. Their reference point is, of course, the reference point for that current trend but they are wearing it on their sleeves. They are showing us what inspired the collection and like all LVC collections, they are taking us on a journey through the times via the clothing.

Looking to the past

The whole point of LVC is that they look to the past. It’s their raison d’etre. But how many times can you rehash the story of the early days of Levi’s? How many times can you look to the flower power of the ’60s the Wild Ones of the 50s or all the incremental happenings of these times? And indeed, how many times should you rehash these stories?

The history of Levi’s didn’t stop in the 60s. Even if our perceived nostalgia did. Times move on and yeah, consequently nostalgia moves on.

Where was Levi’s Vintage Clothing headed?

I have been curious for a few seasons as to where LVC was headed. Their presence at trade fairs and in stores seemed to shrink and although the collections as a whole were as complete and as expertly executed as they always were. It was only core pieces that seemed to rise to the surface and then in a very different context. A raw type 1 in a very fashion-forward setting and for a much higher price than it was a couple of seasons ago.

Beard clad, flannel-clad and axe-wielding

Alienation of the hardcore denimhead was already underway. The core values that the denimhead looked for in the brand were slowly being eroded. The denim was no longer Cone Mills White Oak. The jeans and jackets were no longer made in the USA. And now they cost more and it wasn’t worn the beard clad, flannel-clad axe-wielding lumbersexual we all aspired to be.

Too dogmatic for our own good

And that shift away from that is completely fair. Us denimheads tend to be a little too dogmatic for our own good. And I will happily include myself in this as well. You just need to watch the video on the Autumn-Winter 20 collection to see that.

Being still and being static can be death for a brand. Your customer’s age and move on, their tastes and needs evolve and the culture around us has different demands. If you are offering the same ol’ shit time and again, people lose interest. Your customer base shrinks and eventually the brand withers away. The issue is compounded in dry denim where we are actively encouraged to wear one pair of jeans for months and years.

Very smart indeed

So this way, Levi’s have opened up their collections to a whole new customer base while keeping the core ethos of the brand, I find that fascinating. I find it super smart and I find it very very necessary for Levi’s Vintage Clothing as a brand.