A glimpse into the life of Levi's fashion historian Tracey Panek

May 20 is an important day for denim historians. On this day in 1873 Levi Strauss and a tailor named Jacob Davis from Nevada received the US patent for adding rivets to the pockets of workwear pants, creating a landmark design innovation. The day is referred to as the birth of the modern blue jean or 501 Day within Levi’s World. It is also the day FashionUnited interviewed Tracey Panek who has been Levi’s historian for the past ten years. From her desk in the company’s San Francisco headquarters, surrounded by brand memorabilia such as a doll wearing the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics uniform which Levi’s supplied for the US team, she discusses her career, and the roles of historian and director of the archives within the heritage denim brand.