Unhappy Customer Inspired Levi’s Vintage Clothing’s New $895 Jeans
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Returns are not a new dilemma for the apparel industry. Levi’s Vintage Clothing released Friday $895 Levi’s 501 jeans modeled after a pair that was returned to the denim giant in San Fransisco in 1920.
The original tattered jean was owned by Arizona hard rock miner Homer Campbell, who worked in 501 overalls six days a week for three years, changing out of them only on Sundays. After patching them, replacing buttons, stitching the hem and sewing a tool pocket to the right thigh, Campbell decided the circa 1917 pants hadn’t lasted as well as he expected.
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Campbell took Levi’s up on its advertised guarantee of “A New Pair Free if They Rip,” packing up the unsatisfactory jeans and mailing them to the brand’s headquarters.
The jeans were Levi’s first return. As part of the Levi’s Archives, the unique garment has toured the world and been on display at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. and an art museum in Bonn, Germany.
Levi’s revisited the vintage piece for the 150th anniversary of the Levi’s 501. The new Homer Campbell 501 jean is a “faithful re-creation” of the original. Made from plain selvedge denim, the jean sits high on the waist with a boxy, straight-leg fit. Levi’s replicated Campbell’s unique denim patching additions, swapped buttons, and stitching details.
The limited-edition jeans come packaged in an antique-style parcel postmarked from Arizona and dated 1920 and includes a copy of Campbell’s original letter to Levi Strauss & Co.
“I like to think of Homer as the beginning of the Levi’s Archives,” said Paul O’Neill, design director, Levi’s Vintage Clothing. “Parceled up, including a copy of Homer’s original letter, we wanted to present the Homer Campbell 501 exactly as it was received in 1920.”
Levi’s Vintage Clothing’s Homer Campbell 501 jean are available now on Levi’s website, app and in select Levi’s stores.
Throughout the year, Levi’s has reflected on the legacy of the 501. In May, the brand took over San Francisco’s historic Skylight at the Armory for the 501 Experience, a popup with an archive museum, factory, marketplace and opportunities for customization. In August, Levi Strauss & Co. historian Tracey Panek presented archival jeans at Project Las Vegas, including a pair from the 1930s found in a chicken coop and another customized pair from the ’70s.
Levi’s also released styles like the 501 ’81, a jean based on the first women’s 501 from 1981.
