'Hope' creator Shepard Fairey to design Levi's collection

27 Oct '09

5 min read

Fairey's unique art and view of the world captured the attention of many fans at Levi's and in 2002, the brand proudly sponsored Authentik - one of Fairey's first art shows. The show, which was held at the Levi's Vortex Gallery in the San Francisco Levi's Store, marked the beginning of the relationship between Fairey and his favorite denim brand. Since then, there have been several collaborative projects including a series of one-of-a-kind "Obey" 501 jean art pieces, a timeline portrait collection of punk and rap music trailblazers and a silk-screened image of Levi Strauss that Fairey created to pay homage to Levi's jeans founder.

Earlier this year, the Levi's brand proudly sponsored Fairey's first-ever, career retrospective museum exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. Levi's and Fairey also created a co-designed denim tote bag that was sold exclusively at the ICA Boston's museum shop to commemorate the show and benefit the museum.

The launch of the Obey x Levi's collection is the latest result of the ongoing collaborative relationship between Levi's and Fairey relationship. The line consists of a tightly-edited assortment of eight essential menswear pieces that showcase fits, finishes, rips, patches and design details selected by Fairey and inspired by his personal collection of Levi's denim.

Each piece is a hand-customized original, punctuated by "spray paint" drip details, stenciled art imagery, pins and "wear and repair" finishing touches. The collection is replete with exclusive branding details including an "Obey" Giant tab-device that lives alongside the iconic Levi's Red Tab and a "Two-Horse" rear waistband patch that also includes a stylized "Obey" Giant face.

Artfully executed, the Obey x Levi's collection is aggressively worn to evoke the look and feel of one's favorite pair of jeans. Each pair of jeans, denim jacket and flannel shirt comes with a specially designed, co-branded bandana. The collection consists of:

• Obey x Levi's 511 Skinny Jean in black over-dyed denim with various distressed "Obey" patch details.
• Obey x Levi's 514 Slim Straight Jean -The jeans Fairey wears modernized with a dimensional, textural finish, custom destruction and "Obey" patchwork.
• Obey x Levi's "Spray It" Trucker Denim Jacket featuring spray-paint drip details, a sewn-in black French terry hood, covert interior pockets and custom artwork throughout the interior of the jacket.
• Obey x Levi's "Bomb" Trucker Denim Jacket, in a black, top-coated, blue denim punctuated by a tonal black spray-painted surface, "Obey" patches, herringbone tape inserts, covert and custom, exclusive artwork sewn into the jacket's interior.
• Obey x Levi's Overdyed Flannel Woven Shirt, featuring pigment, spray paint and bleach drip details and custom surface patches.
• A series of three Obey x Levi's super soft, aged t-shirts, each featuring collaborative artwork.

Levi's

More Levi Strauss & Co News... More Fashion News - United States Of America...