Fads come and go, but iconic style never fades. That may be the most fundamental lesson of “Levi Strauss: A History of American Style,” a new exhibit set to begin Thursday at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.
WWD’s exclusive walk-through and interviews ahead of the opening revealed a denim treasure trove of American culture, with some 250 garments, photos and documents spanning the company’s 167 years, and then some.
The journey starts with Strauss’s emigration from Bavaria and takes visitors through the founding of his original dry goods business during the Gold Rush era in San Francisco, the patent written alongside Jacob Davis for the famous copper rivet that secures the jean pant in 1873 and the destruction — and revival — of the company headquarters in the fires after the 1906 earthquake.
“I think that in many ways, you might compare the exhibition itself to a pair of well-worn jeans,” said Tracey Panek, an archivist at Levi’s. “There’s a pair that has lasted for well over 100 years there. There are a lot of holes and little bits and pieces of it — it’s been torn up — and what remains is this well-preserved piece that has endured the test
WWD’s exclusive walk-through and interviews ahead of the opening revealed a denim treasure trove of American culture, with some 250 garments, photos and documents spanning the company’s 167 years, and then some.
The journey starts with Strauss’s emigration from Bavaria and takes visitors through the founding of his original dry goods business during the Gold Rush era in San Francisco, the patent written alongside Jacob Davis for the famous copper rivet that secures the jean pant in 1873 and the destruction — and revival — of the company headquarters in the fires after the 1906 earthquake.
“I think that in many ways, you might compare the exhibition itself to a pair of well-worn jeans,” said Tracey Panek, an archivist at Levi’s. “There’s a pair that has lasted for well over 100 years there. There are a lot of holes and little bits and pieces of it — it’s been torn up — and what remains is this well-preserved piece that has endured the test
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