Levi's gets nostalgic in new Jakarta concept store<\/p>\n
By Dini S. Djalal<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Common denominators across continents are hard
\nto come by. Information technology is narrowing the global
\ndivide, but it is still difference, not semblance, that
\ndistinguishes nations.<\/p>\n
But some habits are near universal. We eat, we sleep, we work,
\nwe avoid work. And we wear jeans.<\/p>\n
From Seattle to Seoul, Lima to Lagos, jeans comprise the
\nstaple uniform of the \"modernizing\" world. You can climb the
\nHimalayas and tread through the Amazon in search of exotica --
\nand may just find it -- but you'll just as likely find youth
\ndressed in denim. Park Avenue socialites shop for diamonds before
\nlunch, but they'll drive to their mansions in the Hamptons in
\ntattered Levi's. Jeans are ubiquitous and egalitarian -- if it
\nwas food, it'd be butter.<\/p>\n
The label doesn't always matter. Denim trends come and go,
\ntheir passing ushering in socio-economic changes.<\/p>\n
Remember a teenage Brooke Shields cooing \"Nothing comes
\nbetween me and my Calvins\"? Skintight designer jeans -- obscenely
\npriced and breathing-impairing -- were post-recession, mid-
\ncocaine, pre-AIDS. Now these come-hither Sassoons and Jordaches
\nhide in the closet below the clothes hangers which helped zip
\nthem up, sharing the space with all the vulgar accessories
\nrequired of the Greed-is-Good era.<\/p>\n
That's if there's enough space next to all the stonewashed,
\nacid-wash, and fancily shredded denims leftover from the late
\n1980s. The environment was showing wear and tear, so why not your
\njeans too? Some paraded their slashes and stains like war wounds,
\nas if to say this rip was from that time I climbed the Berlin
\nWall in protest at communism. For the right price, you too can
\nhave rebellion etched in your back pocket.<\/p>\n
Since then, those old guard Levi's have reclaimed their gilded
\nplace in denim aristocracy. \"We are the original American jeans.
\nA lot of people may copy us but they can't beat us. History will
\ntell you that,\" said Jake Centenera, president director of Levi
\nStrauss Indonesia. Crunching the numbers prove him right. In
\n1996, Levi's sales totaled US$7.1 billion.<\/p>\n
Indeed, the 501, created in 1873 by German immigrant Levi
\nStrauss, was the prototype to the ensuing denim-mania. Strauss
\nfashioned the blue-collar workwear from fabric originating from
\nthe French town of De Nimes (hence the name denim).<\/p>\n
Now, the fashion merry-go-round has made possible Levi's
\nrenaissance. As designers pillaged second-hand shops for
\ninspiration, vintage Levi's -- light, normal, or dark, but always
\nin good condition -- became the barometer of hip. The perfect
\npair of Levi's became so sought after that some pairs cost as
\nmuch as new ones, if not more. The then-booming Japanese market
\nwas especially Levi's mad -- they looted Salvation Army shops
\nacross the U.S. in search of old 501s, which they then resold in
\nJapan for hundreds, even thousands, of dollars.<\/p>\n
So what's the fascination with, essentially, a five-pocket
\npant? \"If they fit right, they can make your bum look really
\ngood,\" said Yanti, a 25-year-old student who collects vintage
\nLevi's. But why buy second-hand? \"New ones are stiff and haven't
\nbeen stretched in all the right places. If you buy a pair once
\nworn by someone with your same body shape, then you don't have to
\nspend years getting the right fit,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Yanti mostly wears 501s, claiming that the lower-waisted
\nbutton-fly makes her stomach feel less constricted. Indeed, the
\n501 is the most celebrated of Levi's, partly because it was the
\nfirst jeans model, partly due to the boyish, narrow silhouette.<\/p>\n
In fact, some women -- albeit not those with voluptuous
\nfigures -- will go even further and buy boys' 501s for a tighter
\nfit, or, better yet, borrow their boyfriends' for more room.<\/p>\n
\"I love wearing men's jeans. When they're really big that you
\nhave to wear a belt, people always ask whose jeans they are. They
\nalways catch attention,\" Yanti said with a sly smile.<\/p>\n
Nostalgic showroom<\/p>\n
Now Levi's is devising another way of catching attention. Levi
\nStrauss & Co. recently opened its latest concept store in Plaza
\nSenayan, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia. It's called the
\nOriginal Levi's Store (OLS), and aims to showcase Levi's legacy.<\/p>\n
The first OLS, full of old photos and posters, opened in
\nSheffield, U.K., last year, and others have since spread all over
\nEurope. That opening coincided with the clout of workwear made
\npopular by the hip hop community. Street cred today is
\nincreasingly defined by previously industrial attire: Caterpillar
\nboots on your feet, Cartthart jacket on your back, dark Levi's
\nround your waist.<\/p>\n
And it's the details that count. A typical fashion spread in
\nhip magazine The Face documents the crucial difference in weights
\nand sturdiness between various makes of denim. Chic icons used to
\nchoose jeans for comfort; now they buy according to stiffness.
\nLevi's has gone full circle and returned to its original concept
\nas sturdy workwear. Its new range of jeans are made from \"extra
\ntough\" denim made in the U.S.<\/p>\n
The company is very aware of fashion's direction, and is
\ncapitalizing on the vintage mood. \"Yes, we're moving back to the
\nold look,\" Centenera said. \"But the way we merchandise it is
\ntotally new. Everything in the store is crisp, clean.\"<\/p>\n
Crisp, clean -- as opposed to old and dusty? Centenera
\nrealizes the marketing hook of the heritage look, but says that
\nthe vintage craze owes a lot of Levi's. \"It relates back to the
\noriginal product, which has a lot of history around it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
And Levi's is making sure everyone remembers. The new oak-
\npaneled store is an archive of denim lore. \"We want to maximize
\nthe heritage and evolution of the brand,\" said Centenera. \"That's
\nwhy we have lots and lots of old memorabilia.\"<\/p>\n
Yet the best part of the store is not the nostalgic prints,
\nbut rather the interactive kiosk at the back of the store. Using
\ntop-notch Internet technology, consumers can click on to learn
\nabout Levi's production, or how a particular style would fit. It
\nalso runs its series of award-winning commercials, as well as
\nvideo and magazine clips. Levi's may be stocking heritage on the
\nshelves, but it's the future that will draw in crowds.<\/p>",
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