Levi’s Vintage Clothing Recreates a 1975 Soapbox Derby

Levi’s Vintage Clothing Recreates a 1975 Soapbox Derby - Cool Hunting

Posted: 18 Feb 2020 01:45 PM PST

Levi's Vintage Clothing, a subset of the larger apparel manufacturer, relies on past styles, textiles, and trends as their source material. Each season, or for each special release, the design team surveys the brand's rich history for storylines or moments pertinent to today. For their Spring/Summer 2020 campaign, they recreated a 1975 Soapbox Derby held by SFMOMA (to celebrate their transition from the San Francisco Museum of Art to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) that was sponsored by SF-local Levi's.

The original images, and video, of the Soapbox Derby remained tucked away in SFMOMA's archive until Levi's Vintage Clothing's head designer, Paul O'Neill, came knocking. The washed out hues of the scene, and its inherent eccentricity, made the moment ripe for reproduction. It encapsulated San Francisco at the time of its peak bohemian boom. It also just so happened, since the brand was a sponsor, that many of those in attendance and participating wore Levi's styles.

The one-time event raised money for the museum and boasted an audience of thousands. Racing 800 feet down a sloping road in McLaren Park, the soapbox racers were unabashedly themselves, unknowing that they'd one day be the inspiration behind a Levi's collection. The reproduction also includes a photo-heavy, hardcover book meant to mimic the behind-the-scenes production of each artist's Soapbox. Joyous, rebellious, and undoubtedly creative, the modern rendition acts as an homage but also a careful period piece organized with the utmost attention to detail.

"Levi's has a strong connection with SFMOMA, and we were one of the original sponsors of the derby," O'Neill says. "The SFMOMA has an incredible archive of images from the event that we were lucky enough to have access to during our research. We also went through our own archives and found pieces from that era that we could use to tell this story through faithful reproductions. We were really inspired by the washed-out colors from the SFMOMA images, so the collection features a lot of pastels and softer tones found in those old photos. It's all very '70s Bay Area boho."

Spring/Summer 2020's pieces include a pastel, color-blocked corduroy top and bottom set, a yellow, open-button work shirt, dark and washed denim jackets and jeans, colorful tees, a pinkish flannel, and more. The full collection is available now in Levi's online store.

Images by Immo Klink for Levi's

7 Outfits I Styled Around Vintage Pieces (and Trust Me, They Look Super Modern) - POPSUGAR

Posted: 14 Feb 2020 12:00 AM PST

My interest in vintage fashion has ebbed and flowed over the years. In high school, one of my most prized possessions was a pair of vintage Chanel aviators that may or may not have been real (I preferred to think the former). In college, I was all about the dig at places like Buffalo Exchange and local thrift shops. Since moving to New York, I've done some serious damage at outdoor bazaars and my favorite local haunt, Housing Works (a nonprofit thrift store with locations throughout the city), happening upon designer gems like an ankle-grazing Gucci leather coat, a pearl-and-rhinestone-adorned Max Mara jacket, and many no-name treasures from leather pants to oversize blazers and costume jewelry.

Right now, I'm in a major flow period when it comes to vintage clothing and accessories, which means my shopping tactics have taken to the interwebs. I love re-commerce sites like The RealReal and Vestiaire Collective where I frequently search for designer accoutrements like belts, boots, and coats. When it comes to pre-loved luxury goods, places like Fashionphile and What Goes Around Comes Around are absolute treasure troves (both with reputations for a thorough authentication process). I even love the occasional eBay or Etsy binge (you can count on both these sites having incredible deals on way-back fashion).

With circular fashion and the part it plays with regard to sustainability being a top topic these days, I've become more eager than ever to showcase my vintage shopping prowess. Lately, I've been swarmed with questions from friends, co-workers, and Instagram connections on where I find my best pieces, how I select products, and my tricks for making every piece feel modern and not outdated. So, I'm spilling some of my secrets by way of eight vintage pieces I wore to New York Fashion Week this season. While I didn't wear vintage head-to-toe, I made a concerted effort to style every outfit around a vintage piece I loved.

Scroll on to see how I did. Plus, shop some of my exact pieces as well as similar styles to recreate any one of these outfits on your own.