Jean Genius
To mark the 130th birthday of Levi's 501s, fashion and design students from the Royal College Of Art were invited to celebrate the brand's heritage and put their own stamp on the garment's future.
The students were given a pair of 501s, a white T-shirt and a roll of denim fabric - their brief being to investigate new designs while retaining the jeans' original trademarks. The arcuate shape, leather patch, rivets, stitching and, yes, the red tab, had to stay.
Menswear student Tom Pike, inspired by Steve McQueen in The Great Escape, simulated the tears that would come from running through barbed wire. The jeans were bleached out, hand- embroidered over the patches and then, using reverse sweat fabric, patched to the T-shirt to create an all-in-one suit that opens at the side.
Katie Shelley based her design on the brand's cowboy associations, creating a moulded prototype covered in straw and manure (stylish but anti-social), while womenswear student Christine Nielson created a multifunctional style for girls that can be worn low on the hips or high on the shoulders, held in place with leather braces.
These, along with other pieces, will feature in an installation showing the 501s' progression, from the inception of the patented process of placing rivets on 'waist overalls' in 1873 to the fit we know today.
The 501 Installation, Thur 15 Aug-Thur 19 Sep, Levi's, 174-176 Regent Street, W1 (020-7292 2500).
