On 501 Day-the day the world’s first blue jean received its official patent, Levi’s commemorated the iconic blue jean's patent with oversized replicas of the pioneering riveted pant. Across the United States, the legacy brand revealed five pairs of Giant 501 Jeans, towering at 12 ft tall, approximately five times larger than standard pairs.
Every detail of these Giant 501 Jeans, from the Levi’s Red Tab to the stitched arcuate on the back pockets, leather patch, and shrink-to-fit fabric, faithfully replicates the original 501 design. While a typical pair of 501s requires 1.5 yards of denim weighing around 2 lbs., each Giant 501 Jean demanded about 15 yards of denim, weighing 20 lbs.
Crafted by Levi’s Eureka Innovation Lab, these innovations pay homage to the brand's heritage while showcasing advancements in technology and sustainability. While it typically takes an apparel technician at Eureka about two hours to make a standard pair of jeans, each Giant 501 Jean required three days.
The Giant 501 Jeans are now on display at select Levi’s stores: Brickell City Center in Miami, 5th and Broadway in Nashville, Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio, and Ala Moana in Honolulu.
This event reflects a growing trend of oversized denim displays, as seen earlier this year with the auction of a 12-foot-tall Levi’s display ad from the 1940s.
Additionally, a collaboration between Turkish mill Orta and Wouter Munnichs resulted in ‘The Biggest Sustainable Jeans,’ a 133x130 size jean made from 27 yards of sustainable fabric, paying homage to historical large denim displays from Levi’s, Wrangler, and Lee.
