Levi’s Vintage Clothing x Tenue de Nîmes Limited Anniversary Edition
Special occasions deserve special attention: This must have been the thinking of Tenue de Nîmes’ owner Menno van Meurs when he was planning the stores 10th Anniversary. From September 2018, they have released some incredibly cool collaborations, including brands like Momotaro Jeans, Benzak Denim Developers, and Red Wing Heritage. The project will draw to a close in May with the release of a limited-edition reproduction of 1970s vintage Levi’s®, issued under the Levi’s® Vintage Clothing brand, which is their very first collaboration with one of their partner stores.
Levi’s® Vintage Clothing
Faithfully capturing the spirit and heritage of American work wear, Levi’s® Vintage Clothing reproduces the fits, fabrics and details of bygone eras. Their source material is their own archive, and their inspiration are the hardworking men and women that Levi’s® has equipped for the last 140 years. Through seasonal collections, iconic reissues and special editions, they relive the treasured history of Levi’s®, and offer timeless products to discerning connoisseurs that are obsessed with the impressive heritage of the brand that can be seen as the founder of denim.
Safely preserved in a vault deep inside the headquarters in San Francisco lies an archive of over 20,000 rare and unique examples of Levi’s® clothing and artifacts dating back to as early as 1873. Kept at an even temperature and wrapped in unbleached cotton, these delicate specimens are carefully protected by the Levi’s® Historian and strictly reserved for the use of the designers. Each season, the team pores through the archives with white-gloved hands, uncovering the secrets of the past and then bringing them back into the world through faithful reproductions that are as fresh now as they were back then.
Tenue de Nîmes
Tenue de Nîmes is an award-winning denim and high-fashion establishment based in Amsterdam. Founded in 2008 by Menno van Meurs, Tenue de Nîmes follows the basic principles of quality, function and simplicity, and offers its customers an exclusive and highly curated selection of brands and products from all over the world. With an emphasis on quality, its roster focuses on pieces with a timeless appeal. Tenue de Nîmes launched their namesake brand in July 2015.
The collaboration
To commemorate the 10-year anniversary of Tenue de Nîmes, the world-renowned Amsterdam denim store and Levi’s® Vintage Clothing are launching a 501® jean honoring this significant milestone. Due to the Tenue de Nîmes’ founder’s love for vintage jeans and his longtime support for Levi’s® Vintage Clothing, the denim icon will represent the grand finale in the concept store’s anniversary collaborations.
“I am passionate about vintage jeans. They are the most personal and ‘revealing’ form of clothing out there. The life of the person who wore the jeans can be literally derived from the ‘wear-out’ of the jean,” Founder and CEO of Tenue de Nîmes, Menno van Meurs, says of one of his favorite products.
Menno van Meurs, founder of Tenue De Nîmes, discovered this special 1970’s 501® model by chance in Levi’s® own backyard, during a 2015 visit to the brand’s archive and Eureka lab. Perusing a San Francisco vintage store in the city’s historic, colorful Mission neighborhood, he came across these incomparable jeans, and it was love at first sight.
“To me they are like a piece of art. Good art to me is creating something that cannot be captured by a single glimpse of the eye. Every time I looked at the jeans I discovered new details,” van Meurs says about this special edition design, which features replicas of the original’s unique repairs and orange paint splatters.
Limited to 75 hand-numbered pieces, the Archival Replica of the Tenue de Nîmes founder’s favorite pair of 1970’s Levi’s® 501®s will be available on May 24th at Tenue de Nîmes’ two Amsterdam stores, online at tenuedenimes.com and levi.com, for €350.
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