Levi’s celebrates 501 Jeans in new documentary

The Levi’s 501 button fly jeans, the original and first ever blue jean, born in 1873, is being immortalised in a new documentary exploring the impact the Original 501 jean has had on cultural history.

The 17-minute three-part film, made in partnership with Cone Mills Denim in North Carolina, pays tribute to its denim masterpiece, with the story of modern America at the heart of the documentary, which explores the world’s of work, style and rebellion, with interviews with pioneers such as model and style icon Erin Wasson, co-founder of Partners & Spade, Andy Spade, streetstyle photographer Scott Schuman, artist John Baldessari and musician and journalist Henry Rollins.

The three parts are titled ‘Work,’ ‘Style,’ and ‘Rebellion,’ with the first episode tracing the journey of the 501 Jeans from a utilitarian garment for coal miners, cowboys, industrial workers, all the way to the creative workers who continue to wear it today.

Episode 2 looks at the style of the jeans when they were worn for their look, rather than function, including a look at how the jeans featured in cowboy films of the 1930s and how Hollywood stars adopted it for decades, while episode 3 looks at the rebellion of the jeans and how the 501 became a symbol for countercultures, for instance, the Rebels of the 1950s wore the 501 jeans adopted from the labourers after the Great Depression and made it a symbol of irreverence and solidarity.

The full documentary can be viewed on Levi’s website, or as three parts on Youtube.

Image: Levi’s