Of the many artists who made Levi’s® a big part of their style, few had the cultural and artistic impact of the legendary Bob Dylan.
Set in the influential New York folk music scene of the early 60s, Searchlight Pictures’ “A Complete Unknown” follows an enigmatic 19-year-old from Minnesota who arrives in the West Village with his guitar and revolutionary talent, destined to change the course of American music.
Timothée Chalamet stars and sings as Bob Dylan in the James Mangold film. After assisting in the costume design process, the Levi’s® Vintage Clothing team will celebrate its release with a new collection that honors Dylan and his classic looks.
During the production of “A Complete Unknown”, the Levi’s® team worked with costume designer, Arianne Phillips, to capture the authentic denim fits of a young Bob Dylan. With the help of the expansive Levi’s® Archives, the team consulted on the period’s Levi’s® and supplied historically accurate denim styles.
For Paul O’Neill, Design Director of Levi’s® Vintage Clothing, a discovery he made several years ago became a critical source for accurately capturing Dylan’s look. While researching the 2019 Levi’s® Vintage Clothing “Folk City” collection, Paul O’Neill read the memoir by Bob Dylan’s ex-girlfriend Suze Rotolo. She recalled adding panels into his jeans in the early 1960s so Dylan could wear them over his boots.
This was particularly fascinating since she did this years before Levi’s® offered bootcut jeans. Several photos of Dylan exist that clearly show the insert on his jeans, including the cover of his fourth LP “Another Side of Bob Dylan”. This key discovery makes its way into the film.
The new Levi’s® Vintage Clothing x A Complete Unknown collection includes the Levi’s® Vintage Clothing 1955 501® jeans with bootcut insert, a Levi’s® Vintage Clothing “D” Belt, and the Levi’s® Vintage Clothing Suede Jacket.
Paying homage to Dylan’s custom pair, the new Levi’s® Vintage Clothing 1955 501® jeans feature the same bootcut insert. They were recreated alongside a leather “D” buckle belt that Dylan always wore. Like the movie, the new collection highlights the romantic side of Dylan’s story.
Presented in a beautiful box emblazoned with Dylan’s lyrics, the jeans and belt come with special tributes, including the sheet music for “Girl from the North Country, a “New Friend” cue card from the legendary “Subterranean Homesick Blues” film, and, hidden in the watch pocket of the jeans, a typed note that reads “I’ll let you be in my dreams, if I can be in yours” – an early Dylan lyric.
To complete the outfit, the Levi’s® Vintage Clothing team has remade the classic suede trucker jacket worn by Dylan in the early 1960s. The jacket is presented in a box that includes sheet music for “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”, a “Dig Yourself” cue card, and a movie still featuring Timothée Chalamet wearing the jacket, jeans and belt. Like the 501® jeans, the jacket comes with costume notes on the inside pocket calling out ‘A Complete Unknown’ as well as noting the outfit change and scene the product is featured in.
“I was honored to consult on this film and work with Arianne and team to authentically bring Bob Dylan’s early Levi’s® styles to life,” said Paul O’Neill, Design Director, Levi’s® Vintage Clothing. “It was exciting to reproduce Dylan’s original jeans with the inserted panel and include unique ephemera in the presentation, ensuring our new collection captures the film’s romantic themes while faithfully recreating the iconic Levi’s® look of an unparalleled genius”.
“While researching costumes for the film, I kept noticing that Bob Dylan wore Levi’s® consistently throughout his career, both on and off stage. So I worked with Paul O’Neill at Levi’s® to help me source original Levi’s® denim and produce the bootcut 501® jeans, as well as recreate the Super Slim Levi’s® jeans that Dylan wore in ‘65″, said Arianne Phillips.
“We see the silhouette of Levi’s® change in the film alongside Dylan’s own evolution, from the fuller leg 501® jeans that Dylan wore when he first got his start in the NYC West Village folk scene in ’61, to the Super Slim jeans Dylan wore when famously going electric in ‘65. To my surprise and delight, I found that Dylan’s journey could be authentically traced through his Levi’s®!”
Coinciding with the film’s release on December 25th nationwide, the limited-edition A Complete Unknown collection will be available for purchase December 20th on Levi.com.
