This year marks the 143rd birthday of the original pair of Levi’s jeans—the Levi’s 501 button fly—and in celebration of this unique milestone, Levi’s has created an original short story documentary film showcasing the lasting cultural impact the original 501 has had throughout history, both here in America and abroad.
Entitled The 501 Jean: Stories of an Original, the film features interviews with cultural pioneers and innovators like musician and journalist Henry Rollins, artist John Baldessari, founder of popular street style blog The Sartorialist, Scott Schuman, founder of menswear label Jack Spade, Andy Spade, and model and style icon Erin Wasson, just to name a few.
It was originally released in separate 4-part mini docs, then edited together and narrated by Ramblin Jack Elliott, a former mentor of Bob Dylan and one of folk music’s most enduring characters. And while each part tells a different story of the jean’s cult-like popularity and status, perhaps our favorite part is “Episode 4,” which explores the immense influence the 501’s have had in Japan and the country’s unrivaled passion with the brand and American culture.
Narrated by skate and surf legend Craig Stecyk, whose life has been portrayed in films like Dogtown and Z-Boys and Lords of Dogtown, the documentary takes us through the history of the 501’s arrival in Japan and its rise to cult-like status in the country, with interviews from Japanese streetwear designers like Bigo of BAPE, Shinsuke Takizawa of NEIGHBORHOOD, Verbal and Yoon of AMBUSH, and even American artist and designer Erik Bruntetti of FUCT.
A very cool insight into Japanese street culture and Levi’s history, the short film is definitely worth a watch, as are the 3 other episodes of the documentary. You can check out “Episode 4” above and the rest of the film here.
