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VINTAGE LVC CATALOGS

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mr randal View Drop Down
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    Posted: 11 Jan 2020 at 11:00pm
You can track the investment Levi's has had in their LVC division through the care they spend on their catalogs of offerings.
 
 At the inception of LVC US there was a careful selection of classic pieces, all produced at the Valencia street factory, accompanied by a nice 6 x 4"ish catalog showing original items that stayed the same for a number of years.

 When LVC got broader and funkier, (2002ish, with a gradual scale up from 1999) with washes and quirkily reproduced customized items from their archive, they released color hang-tag catalogs, about 3 x 4", for each season and made large format look books which were for the trade only.

  Lvc languished for a while around 2007, with a reduced number of items and a dimmed vision, and the catalogs were poorly produced hang tabs for a few years. I think the look books stopped around this period as well.

 When money and interest poured back into LVC from headquarters around 2009, offerings and design went through the roof and glossy large format look books began to be produced again, with the idea of scaling them up and releasing them to the public. This did happen, and culminated in hard bound look books that were sold or given out at events.

 Over the last season or two there have been warning signs that LVC is being scaled back again and may even cease to exist. Seems like a good time to dust of the old jpegs and take a look back at LVC in its silver and golden years

 I'm not sure about my chronology here, so anyone who sees an error, please speak up.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (5) Thanks(5)   Quote mr randal Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jan 2020 at 11:03pm
 LVC first started happening in a small way with Levi's Japan, who started reproducing a few models of 501s (including the 1955) and a couple of denim jackets (506, 557, 505) in the early-mid '80s, following the lead of the Japanese company Evis. Levi's US started making a few repro-like models of the 501 and the 506 & 507 jackets in the late '80s, but with small 'e' tags and hit or miss denim. LVC became a more serious project around 1996. For the first three years they made a very limited range of repro denim garments.


 Here, page by page, is the original catalog. These images may be courtesy of Dr_Heech- I don't recall for sure.



LVC 1996-1998





































***NOTE- the 1937 model is actually a reproduction of a 1937 501. The 201 line was a cheaper version of items dating back back to the... 1890-1920s? (Sansome, is this correct?)

 I believe this was a simple error that happened during design to manufacture transition that didn't get corrected for whatever reason. Ive heard a story that LVC purposefully misnamed the 1937 as a 201 to make it appear older- this doesn't seem entirely logical, as the date is given as 1937 and no bones about that.





Edited by mr randal - 12 Jan 2020 at 4:35pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (3) Thanks(3)   Quote mr randal Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jan 2020 at 11:03pm
LVC 1999-2000

In 1999 LVC produced a larger collection with new 501 models and in 2000 their first non-denim items appeared. So far as I can find, there don't seem to have been any catalogs released from 1999 to 2001, so i have begun to reconstruct the releases for these years as best I can. If anyone has corrections or additional information for these years, please post it in this thread or PM me.
 I haven't been able to trace who was at the top creative helm of LVC at this time, but pattern cutter Daniel DiSanto was responsible for coming up with the year model and patterns for the expanded jean range at this time. An interview with him is available on denimbro here.

LVC 1999-2000- Several new 501 models- the 1873, 1890, 1933, 1944 & 1947 and the '20s 201 appeared this year (some of the new models began appearing in late 1998).





LVC 2000-2001


These are compilations and extrapolations of my own- I'm sure there are errors in release time here.



LVC S/S 2002

I believe this was the first season LVC produced small hang-tag catalogs that accompanied each garment. These photos are courtesy of Dr_Heech:






 The Bonneville jacket here is interesting- an unlined cowhide with good distressing.
 This collection really  starts to showcase the innovative distressing techniques of Bart Sights, who along with his father were pioneers in the field of artificially aging denim. The 'Death Valley' 1890 is the first of his truly iconic washes for LVC.



LVC F/W 2002





The 'Rough N Ready' and 'Bird of Prey' are stunning items, best of the LVC jackets, and mark the beginning of LVC's collaboration with Aero Leather of Scotland. The R'n'R is heavy horse-hide, subtly distressed. The BOP, marketed as a woman's jacket, is the same basic model but in darker steerhide, cut slightly more narrow in the waist and with sharper collar points. Works quite well as a mans jacket, and in fact looks more like the archived mens leather jacket at Levi's headquarters that these two were based on than does the R'n'R.


The LVC x Aero 'Rough & Ready' (L) and the vintage jacket it was based on in the Levi's archive.



LVC x Aero  'Bird of Prey' jacket.


LVC S/S 2003:



The '30s dude ranch shirt (actually a plaid shorthorn shirt from Levi's main line) is very interesting, utilizing a printed (not woven) plaid and featuring elaborate customized embroidery. The 'Scorched Up' jacket is another collaboration between Aero Leather Clothing from the UK and LVC. This is a loose reproduction of the East West Musical Instruments 'Barnstormer' jacket, lacking the original's side and lower pocket straps. The 1915 501 'Celebration' jean, widely sought after by collectors, was distress by Bart Sights and is one of the most beautiful and convincing washes produced by LVC.



LVC F/W 2003



The 1901 'Indigo Immortal' and the 1937 'Rail Rider', two of the last Bart Sights washes, are outstanding. The 'Blue Black' leather jacket and its' female counterpoint, the 'Blue Blush' have become iconic, representing along with the previous seasons 'Rough and Ready' and 'Bird of Prey' the apex of LVCs partnership with Aero Leather. The 'Blue Black' was made from a blue backed Buffalo hide in a cropped '30s style. LVC seems to have infected Aero during this time with its inability to size properly. The 'Blue Black' is horribly undersized, with the large being roughly an actual 38. The '30s climate-sealed jacket makes its first appearance this season.


Last Chance Climate-Sealed jacket.


LVC x Aero 'Blue Black' jacket.





LVC S/S 2004




LVC F/W 2004




The Spring Bottom pants from this season are incredible. LVC had a batch of very lightweight Japanese denim (? seems more like a light cotton twill than denim, but what do I know) made to match the faded, slightly greenish natural indigo tint of a pair of famous Spring Bottoms in the Levi's archive (this same material was later used on the 1910 pleated front jacket and the '50s 'Lighter Blues' pants). This Spring Bottom repro was lovingly crafted, with tan duck and red-striped cotton interior detailing and gold-look hardware. LVC later released a second, much inferior, batch of SB pants in 2010, perhaps in an effort to use up the remaining fabric, which featured simpler detailing, dull hardware, and even lacked the fabric connecting the split back waistband.
 The Aero 'Two Tone' leather jacket, in a oxblood-brown horsehide, is a fantastic piece.






Edited by mr randal - 16 Jan 2020 at 2:06pm
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mr randal View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mr randal Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jan 2020 at 11:03pm
CATALOGS CONTINUE with 2005 on the next page.


Edited by mr randal - 16 Jan 2020 at 2:16pm
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Sansome View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sansome Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jan 2020 at 12:13am
I believe the #2 series went into the 1930's?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dr_Heech Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jan 2020 at 5:38am
^The 201 line was manufactured up until 1942 (l've even seen images of an early WW2 s213 jacket so it's possible there may have been a simplified 201 jean too?)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Broark Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jan 2020 at 6:51am
Great archival post, looking forward to the rest.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote mr randal Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jan 2020 at 2:13pm
Thanks Doc- there must be some interesting history there with the need for simplified WWII production and the end of the 201 line?

BTW are these your images? I kind of remembering photographing the catalog myself, but I don’t really recall, as it’s been (shockingly) over 10 years since we posted the old LVC catalog thread.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (2) Thanks(2)   Quote mr randal Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jan 2020 at 4:38pm
Thread updated through 2004
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dr_Heech Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Jan 2020 at 9:50pm
Originally posted by mr randal mr randal wrote:

Thanks Doc- there must be some interesting history there with the need for simplified WWII production and the end of the 201 line?

BTW are these your images? I kind of remembering photographing the catalog myself, but I don’t really recall, as it’s been (shockingly) over 10 years since we posted the old LVC catalog thread.


You know, it's been so long that l'm not entirely sure. Although tbh it doesn't matter (to me at least).
Good to see them all again. Still have all my lvc catalogues somewhere.
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