A pair of pants costs 1,000 yuan, but it looks like a crime to wear, and today's young people are not willing to pay for this big brand? The world's most famous clothing brands have not had a good time in recent years. According to the World Organization, the growth rate of global clothing will only decrease to 1Below 5%, this is the lowest point in the past three years. In this deserted atmosphere, I didn't expect the first brand to publicly admit difficulties turned out to be Levi, a "century-old clothing giant".'s）。They publicly said a few days ago that they intend to lay off 10 to 15 percent of their workforce worldwide because of poor sales. Levi's employs about 20,000 people worldwide, which means that two or three thousand people will lose their jobs. They wanted to save $100 million in costs by streamlining the process.
Everyone knows that Levi's started as a company that made denim clothing, and introduced jeans as early as 1853. This time it was the first among the clothing giants to "succumb" to reality, a move that was both surprising and reasonable. What is surprising is that I didn't expect Levi's deep family background to be unable to hold on, and he needed to seek new development opportunities through major layoffs. What makes sense is that both men's and women's trousers are no longer in jeans. While young people still wear jeans, they are no longer chasing the expensive Levi's brand as much as they used to.
When I visited Levi's official website, I found that they had recently been vigorously promoting a clothing line in collaboration with Gundam, but it was not on the shelves yet. The classic 501 light-colored jeans were printed with the head of the Gundam mecha, and when I showed it to a friend who likes Gundam, he replied, "Aren't these pajama pants?" "But the ** of this co-branded jeans is not cheap, it costs 999 yuan.
There are two main grades of jeans on Levi's official website:
The first grade,**is around 350-600 yuan,**Most people can accept this**, it is quite cost-effective, and you may be attracted when you want to buy a good pair of pants.
The second grade, **at 800-2000 yuan, this** is a little expensive, which has exceeded the daily consumption level of many people.
For those who are not familiar with Levi's, it may be strange to see these thousands of **: who would spend the money to buy a down jacket to buy a pair of jeans?
Young people today may not do this, but more than a decade ago, when wages were not high, it was common for young people to save money to buy a 1,499 yuan Levi's.
When young people think of Levi's, many people have the impression that "they have seen a brand in a shopping mall". But in the millennium, when Levi first entered the Chinese market, it was known as "ideal pants". Because it was mainly made of men's pants in the early days, until recent years, some men's fashion bloggers regarded it as a "must-have for men's wardrobes", and even when recommending jeans, the headline would be written as "If you can't afford Levi's, you should buy it......”
The reason why it was so popular that year was mainly because Levi was the founder of jeans. As early as 1853, the production of jeans began, laying the foundation for a wide range of jeans fits on the market. Levi categorizes jeans into six fits: skinny, slim, straight, fitted, wedged, and boyfriend. Among them, the straight-leg version of the 501 has been hailed as the most popular fashion item of the past 140 years.
Now, if you buy a pair of jeans on the street or online, you're likely to see a small red label and curved stitching on the pocket. This was originally Levi's brand feature, but after a hundred years of imitation and borrowing from global garment factories, everyone now thinks that this is a common design of jeans.
However, there is another key reason why Levi's is the ancestor of the fashion industry: denim was once a global trend. Denim style coincided with the rise of rock 'n' roll, when Ramones, arguably the greatest punk band of all time, made jeans their trademark. Since then, and into the millennium, jeans have stood for rebellion and cutting edge in global trends. As a family with a history of 100 years, Levi's has naturally become a leader in this field. I still remember that when Jobs showed the iPod of Genesis at the press conference, he wore Levi's most classic 501 jeans.
When Levi entered the Asian market, he asked Takuya Kimura, who was super popular in East Asia at the time, as a spokesperson. Later, in order to enter the Chinese market, they enlisted Jay Chou for help. These actions tell you that Levi's status in the millennium was similar to that of a trendy brand, and it was the kind of trendy brand with a history of 100 years.
Their denim style is the same, not to say that it is ordinary clothes that everyone thinks now, but in those days, it was a representative of the trend. In 2000, Mariah Carey wore the crystal butterfly top with low-rise jeans at the VH1 concert, which still remains in fashion history.
In the first two years, wasn't Y2K and Millennial Babe's style quite popular? Back then, butterflies and denim blue were among the most common elements.
At that time, almost all female celebrities around the world had a pair of low-waisted jeans, which was completely different from the high-waisted pants that showed long legs that were popular now. American pop singer Jessica Simpson was ridiculed by some poisonous ** because she wore high-waisted pants, saying that she was wearing high-waisted pants used by mothers to cover her flesh.
Male stars can't show their belly buttons like female stars, but they're also in love with skinny jeans. In an episode of "Kangxi is Coming", Da S revealed that he may have dozens or even hundreds of pairs of jeans in his wardrobe. Some of these jeans were bought on a foreign trip or business trip because she found the design interesting and collected it even if she didn't wear it herself.
At that time, they also brought in a clothing expert to teach everyone how to choose the right jeans for their figure. It's like today's fashion bloggers, when wide-leg pants are popular, they will post some tutorials on "how to choose wide-leg pants", such as "how to choose wide-leg pants for pear-shaped and apple-shaped bodies", "how long should people with short legs choose wide-leg pants", etc.
The low-rise jeans that were popular at that time were actually not very friendly to ordinary people. It only looks good when worn on people with good legs, and once you wear it wrong, it will look like you have a five-five figure and a prominent leg and belly. Later, in 2019, The New Yorker magazine criticized low-waisted pants as exclusive to thin and androgynous people, just to highlight the hips and flat belly.
At that time, a fashionable niche hobby called "cattle raising" was also introduced to China from abroad. The name means "to raise a pair of jeans". Once the jeans are produced, they can be washed or not. At present, most of the jeans on the market are washed by the manufacturer, so that the pants in the hands of consumers are not easy to fade and deform.
However, lovers of "cattle farming" prefer to buy jeans that have not been washed in water and go home, dispose of them themselves, and then "raise" them in the process of wearing them. After the manufacturer's jeans are washed, the texture and color are fixed, and after processing it yourself, you can make a unique and different color and wrinkle pattern.
There are also some special terms among "cattle raising" enthusiasts: the color is washed from dark blue to light blue is called color fall, the pattern worn by the stall is called cat whiskers, and the pattern squatting out of the back of the knee is called honeycomb. Every pair of "cow-raising" jeans is different, so some second-hand "cow-raising" jeans will even be more expensive than new ones, and Levi's is one of them.
The new Levi may be in the tens of dollars, but the Levi's in the second-hand market after the "cattle raising" treatment may be hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Levi's own campaign pays tribute to this hobby among his customers. In the commercial, a pair of jeans is passed around in the hands of several enthusiasts, and it is re-cut and processed.
For a long time, Levi was a bigwig-level existence in the trend circle.
Even in recent years, emerging fashion brands represented by Kanye have emerged, Levi still has a lot of fashion influence. For example, Kanye's trendy brand Denim Tears, which Kanye often posts, took the initiative to come to the door and started a joint brand with Levi.
But the problem is, cowboy is no longer mainstream. In the past, Levi's jeans looked fashionable and eye-catching on Jay Chou and Takuya Kimura, not only the big names and rich people in the fashion circle were willing to spend a lot of money to buy them, but ordinary people were also difficult to resist**. During the millennium, many young people bought a Levi in order to keep up with the trend and save money.
At that time, walking on the street in Levi's always made people feel proud, and the vanity satisfaction brought by famous brands spontaneously arose. But as the denim style waned, denim fabrics became more and more common, and Levi's glory days faded away.
Although Levi's former glory has elevated its fashion status, it is difficult to make more breakthroughs in sales. Over the past 30 years, the rapid development of the global apparel industry has made fast fashion brands such as Uniqlo, Zara, and ONLY mainstream. These brands sell clothes of any style and fabric, including denim, from different garment factories.
In contrast, Levi's, a denim-based brand, is a bit professional and one-dimensional.
For ordinary consumers, Levi's has no reason to choose this brand.
It's no longer the most fashionable, nor is it a big favorite of superstars, and the last remaining advantage is that it has a good fit, **Levi's jeans are known for being sturdy and good-looking, and there are many people who have worn them for ten years without wearing them. Its "Double Horse" logo was advertised at the time of its creation, and neither horse could easily tear Levi's jeans.
However, now that there are so many brands, how can you buy a good pair of pants for hundreds or thousands of dollars, and you don't necessarily have to choose Levi's. Moreover, the subtle differences in the fit of jeans can only be seen by trying on and comparing them offline. Now that e-commerce is so developed, shopping malls are gradually declining, and looking at ** online, it is impossible to see that Levi's version is better than other brands**.
I remember that in 2010, Levi's had more than 500 stores in China's first- and second-tier cities. However, in the first half of 2023, only 297 remained.
Levi's influence waned, and the denim style became ordinary, which was a long-term reason
However, Levi's life has not been good in recent years, thanks to another shock - the rise of sportswear like lululemon. I remember a few years ago, Piper Jaffray, an investment bank in the United States, did a survey on teenagers' consumption, and the results showed that young people are more and more fond of buying casual sportswear such as Nike and lululemon.
Jeans are controversial in the fashion circle! Some people think that its fabric is tough and not comfortable enough to wear, and some netizens even joked that it is better to run away from home than to wear this kind of skinny jeans! Even Levi's CEO admitted in an interview with Bloomberg that their company has been hit by fashion trends such as yoga pants, and there is a big difference between their own products and consumer needs. Having said that, brands like lululemon and Nike are really going to seize the opportunity to easily turn sports gear into a fashion trend by taking advantage of the popularity of athleisure in recent years.
Don't just put on your sweatpants and running shoes for gym class! It's a comfortable style that you can use every day to show off your personality. Looking for something a little more casual? Try pairing it with shorts, skirts, socks, and even snow boots! In this way, your yoga pants will no longer just appear in yoga classes, but become a part of daily fashion.
Do you know? lululemon has had a big impact on denim brands such as Levi's. It's all thanks to those stylish yoga pants. Before they became popular, narrow jeans were considered one of the pants that flattered the figure! Loose-fitting sweatpants, wide-leg pants and cargo pants are difficult to replace it. It wasn't until the rise of slim-fitting yoga pants and shark pants that broke the pattern. So, don't limit yourself to the traditional way of dressing and take your fashion sense to the next level!
Levi's has also chased fashion, and in 2022, its mother company Levi's announced its entry into the yoga wear market. In 2023, he will have a joint brand with the hole shoe cross, wanting to look younger and chic. I also made a "landmark check-in" and made a Levi's department store on Yuyuan Road in Shanghai's space), held a bunch of cowboy culture experience activities, but the effect was not significant.
Looking at it from another angle, this may be a return to the essence. Levi's jeans originated during the 19th century gold rush in the United States, when many blue-collar workers and miners wanted a more durable trousers. So founder Strauss created jeans by making trousers from canvas and denim and reinforcing frayable pockets with copper studs. Jeans were originally designed as durable pants for the average person, and now they have become more popular, only to be reintegrated into the masses. It's just that in the past, gold diggers changed their jeans because they wore them for too long. And now we change our jeans, probably because we haven't worn them for a long time, and we can't wear them because we have become fat. Perhaps, what do you think? Do you wear jeans?
I am Mrs. Li, focusing on self-improvement, self-growth, and accompanying you to meet a better self!