Levi’s Puts Some Pants On Milan Design Week With Recycled Denim Billboard
After kicking off 150th-anniversary celebrations for its iconic 501 jeans, Levi’s has added another notch on its belt. This time, the label has taken over streets of Europe in XXL style with a billboard fitted out in pre-worn denim.
Renowned London recycled-denim artist Ian Berry was tasked to create this fashionable fresco. The getup—illustrated and shaded with pieces of old 501 jeans—stretches 13 by 33 feet, and was assembled on-site at the heart of Paris for a three-day art installation. The activation will move on to Milan next for Design Week.
The collage showcases seven characters, each representing an archetype of denim-wearers—from cowboys to punks, hippies, and bikers. “Legends Never Die,” its text reads. It’s an ode to the diverse movements and communities that have contributed to the legacy of 501 jeans.
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With the figures frozen in movement and facing forward together, Berry also wanted to convey concepts of freedom and how change can be driven by diversity.
Understanding denim from top to toe, Berry created a mural that—at first glance—is so smooth, it bares little of the textured material and appears more like a painting. Instead of acrylics or oils, though, the artist picked out various washes and fades to add depth to the billboard, before applying the scraps onto a stretched denim canvas.
Who says denim on denim doesn’t work?
About 90 to 100 pairs of jeans went into the finished product, his most ambitious work yet, Berry tells WWD.
Berry expresses in a statement that owing to the rich history of the 501 line, it was “pretty easy to draw inspiration from all the people who did great things in their denim.
“The result is the largest piece that I have ever attempted. Countless hours went into this work, but I’m immensely proud of this contribution,” the denim artist continues.
The traveling pants will move over to Milan from April 17 to 25, before arriving in Madrid from May 4 to 7.
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[via Creative Boom and WWD, images via various sources]
