Alongside the release of A Complete Unknown, the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, Levi’s will release a batch of period-correct clothing designed in tandem with the film’s costume designer, Arianne Phillips.
The collection includes a suede trucker jacket and brown-leather D-ring belt, both inspired by garments that Dylan maybe, kind of wore in the early 1960s. Meanwhile, its centerpiece, a modified pair of 501s from the era, has receipts …
The jeans follow after the exact Levi’s Dylan wears on not one but two album covers, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963) and Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964), right down to the custom U-shaped gussets sewn into the bottoms, effectively converting them into bootcuts.
The original modification was performed by Dylan’s ex-girlfriend, Suze Rotolo, who detailed the procedure in her 2009 memoir A Freewheelin’ Time. (Rotolo also features on the cover of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.)
Interestingly, the customization was more than a modest attempt at frugality. According to Paul O’Neill, the design director of Levi’s Vintage Clothing, the brand had yet to release bootcut style that neatly fit over boots. That makes Dylan’s pair historically significant in not just the history of Levi’s but denim as a whole.
“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,” O’Neill said. “It was exciting to reproduce Dylan’s original jeans with the inserted panel.”
