Welcome Braapers! (Be Ready And Act Promptly!)
'This is the true story of some very precious cargo. Of fishermen importing 501® jeans to the docks of Kingston in the ‘70s, and Jamaicans exporting their style back to the world by the metric ton. And that’s one influential island in the greatest story ever worn.'
Celebrating 150 Years of the Levi’s® 501® jean.
#150YearsOf501Over the years most of us have probably seen thousands of adverts, some that make no sense what-so-ever and others that capture our imagination. The advert above for Levi's is a mini-masterpiece which takes its place alongside the best of them. Set in the 1970's, we relive the story of Levi jeans original journey to Kingston, Jamaica.
The advert was sent to me by Dehdeh Blacks (interview) who can be seen zooming along on a motor bike, his woman in-tow on the back- naturally! From beginning to end we are drawn to the energy and excitement generated initially by the boat with it's cargo of barrels containing 501's speeding to the shore; which is interspersed with little shots of every day life such as the cockerel being chased through the gap- I love the authenticity embedded in this advert, including putting on the jeans when getting ready to go out and dance, dance, dance- naturally, to one of Jamaica's most renowned songs, 54-46 That's My Number, by Toots and the Maytal's.
I'm just going to add a little memory here- Oh, the barrels! I recall us sending one of these to Barbados when going for the first time with my 17 month old son. It had to be packed and sent way in advance of our arrival date. It wasn't quite as straightforward as I initially thought, arriving late and then of course there was the tax! Quite a process to be fair and far less exciting than the arrival of these jeans!
Levi has a whole string of adverts based on true stories along with documentaries and fascinating historical information relating to their brand, including historical detail from The Museum of Modern Art. I had not anticipated that this one short advert would lead to a trail of very educational and interesting facts, one of them being- 501's are unbelievable strong and were even used to tow a car.
Summary of the history of Levi 501's as taken from a documentary.
Levi has a name for quality, and once you start looking into it you can understand why they took Jamaica and the rest of the world by storm. Did you know the rivets were added back in 1873 when Levi Strauss and Co were granted a patent, and this was to help jeans last longer due to the fact they were worn while mining? I didn't- probably just ignorant here. Levi 501's were originally a workman's jean, used in many different industries as its popularity spread. 'All classics come from utility'- Mark Mcnairy~ designer.
Levi partnered with the Denim fabric mine to make the jeans and later on, added the red cotton thread to the edge of the fabric, red line selvedge, which actually serves a purpose- to help shrink to fit.
Levi's became really popular once they hit the movies- Westerns to be precise! Something about Westerns catches the imagination and 501's have remained popular to this day- once again, Levi's are fit for purpose, perfect for cowboys.
In 1934 Lady Levi's appeared and were seen in Vogue magazine taking the 501 in an new direction as a glamourous, fashion oriented item. They were also viewed as a rebellious wear back in the day, breaking away from more traditional fashion. The cross-over between masculine and feminine, as described in the documentary, is extremely popular and now we have gender neutral fashion which has become an element of current fashion. The documentary contains really interesting information regarding the cut and styling of Levi's, which I'm not attempting to repeat so please check it out yourself.
The final section of the documentary speaks about Levi's after the war. How they were part of the bonding/identity process hence popular in biking gangs such as Hells Angels, being as serviceable as the original Levi's. They were worn and banned from high schools, and it was teenagers who first referred to Levi's as 'jeans.' Jeans were then worn by rock bands and again used as a rebellious statement. 'It was and still is the garment of the outlaw. the rock and roller, the biker, the punker rocker.... that might not be allowed into the White House for dinner.' Just love this comment!
It's very interesting how the evolution of 501's is constantly circling and the story is far from over, so let's see where it takes us next.
Over to you!!! Do you have a great
story to tell? What have you overcome and how? Are you organizing an event that
you’d love to share? Have you written an article, poem or short story you would
like featured? If so, please contact me with brief info via my Facebook
Group Its Braap and
I will get back to you. And subscribe to our YouTube channel at Its Braap TV
Jaz McKenzie~ The Word Magician
Comments
Post a Comment