Levi’s unveils its collaboration with “A Complete Unknown,” the film that follows Bob Dylan’s early days as a musician living in New York City in the Sixties.

Levi’s Partners with “A Complete Unknown” to Recreate Bob Dylan’s Sixties’ Style

Levi’s Partners with “A Complete Unknown” to Recreate Bob Dylan’s Sixties’ Style

The Levi’s brand’s long standing place at the center of culture will be lit up on the silver screen thanks to “A Complete Unknown,” the Bob Dylan biopic, starring Timothée Chalamet. As part of the tie-up, Levi’s worked with Academy Award-nominated costume designer Arianne Phillips on the wardrobe for the film. The denim giant has also created a capsule collection, featuring a two-pocket suede motorcycle jacket, Dylan’s “D” belt and a recreation of the 501 XX jeans his ex-girlfriend Suze Rotolo sewed a triangular gusset into so they would fit over his boots.

“While researching costumes for the film, I kept noticing that Bob Dylan wore Levi’s consistently throughout his career, both on and off stage. So I worked with Paul O’Neill at Levi’s® to help me source original Levi’s® denim and produce the bootcut 501® jeans, as well as recreate the Super Slim Levi’s® jeans that Dylan wore in ‘65,” said Arianne Phillips. “We see the silhouette of Levi’s® change in the film alongside Dylan’s own evolution, from the fuller leg 501®  jeans that Dylan wore when he first got his start in the NYC West Village folk scene in ’61, to the Super Slim jeans Dylan wore when famously going electric in ‘65.”

With the help of the Levi’s® Archives, the team consulted on the period’s Levi’s® products and supplied historically accurate denim styles. For Paul O’Neill, design director of Levi’s® Vintage Clothing, a discovery he made years ago became a source for capturing Dylan’s look. While researching the 2019 Levi’s® Vintage Clothing “Folk City” collection, Paul read the memoir by Bob Dylan’s ex-girlfriend Suze Rotolo where she recalled adding panels into his jeans in the 1960s so Dylan could wear them over his boots. She did this years before Levi’s offered bootcut jeans!! 

“I was honored to consult on this film and work with Arianne and team to authentically bring Bob Dylan’s early Levi’s styles to life,” said Paul. “It was exciting to reproduce Dylan’s original jeans with the inserted panel and include unique ephemera in the presentation, ensuring our new collection captures the film’s romantic themes while faithfully recreating the iconic Levi’s® look of an unparalleled genius.” 

To commemorate the film’s release, the brand is releasing Levi’s Vintage Clothing x A Complete Unknown. The collection highlights the romantic side of Dylan’s story and includes the Levi’s® Vintage Clothing 1955 501® jeans with bootcut insert, a Levi’s® Vintage Clothing “D” Belt and the Levi’s Vintage Clothing Suede Jacket. Presented in a beautiful box emblazoned with Dylan’s lyrics, the jeans and belt come with special tributes, including the sheet music for “Girl from the North Country,” a “New Friend” cue card from the “Subterranean Homesick Blues” film and, hidden in the watch pocket of the jeans, a typed note that reads “I’ll let you be in my dreams, if I can be in yours”, an early Dylan lyric.

To complete the outfit, the Levi’s Vintage Clothing team has remade the classic suede Trucker jacket worn by Dylan in the early 1960s. The jacket is presented in a box that includes sheet music for “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” a “Dig Yourself” cue card and a movie still featuring Timothée Chalamet wearing the jacket, jeans and belt. Like the 501® jeans, the jacket comes with costume notes on the inside pocket calling out “A Complete Unknown” as well as noting the outfit change and scene the product is featured in.

The limited-edition Levi’s Vintage Clothing x A Complete Unknown collection will be available for purchase on levi.com in time for the film’s theatrical release on December 25.

Levis continues growth trajectory 

What began as a partnership in 1873 between a dry fruits seller and a tailor, who wished to patent his enduring pants with rivets, transformed into a global denim giant. The brand invented the blue jean in 1873 and reinvented khaki pants in 1986. It pioneered labor and environmental guidelines in manufacturing and works to build sustainability into everything it does. Brands — Levi’s®, Dockers®, Denizen® and Signature by Levi Strauss & Co.™ — stand for self-expression around the world. And for more than 160 years, it has used the strength of its brands to lead with its core values and make an outsized impact on the world.

The brand continues its upward growth trajectory. Levi Strauss & Co announced financial results for the third quarter ended August 25, 2024. Net Revenues of $1.5 billion were flat on a reported basis, despite 160 basis points of FX headwind, and 2% higher on a constant-currency basis versus Q3 2023. 

“The underlying fundamentals of our business are getting stronger, driven by the Levi’s® brand, which grew 5 percent globally in Q3, a significant acceleration from H1 and the highest revenue growth in two years. We are making progress against our strategic priorities, including double-digit growth in our direct-to-consumer business, continued positive performance in the U.S., and Europe inflecting to growth,” said Michelle Gass, President and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. “Looking to Q4 and beyond, we will amplify our focus on the Levi’s® brand, exemplified by our new campaign with Beyoncé and an innovative product pipeline designed to build momentum with our fans around the world.”

“We delivered significant margin expansion and double-digit adjusted diluted EPS growth in Q3,” said Harmit Singh, Chief Financial and Growth Officer of Levi Strauss & Co. “Based on the continued strength of the Levi’s brand, we expect sequential progression to continue into Q4 as we accelerate revenue and profitability. We are also taking decisive actions to address the areas where we’ve underperformed, including our decision to evaluate strategic alternatives for Dockers®. We remain confident in our ability to drive long-term shareholder value.”