Unraveling the Mystery of Levi's® RED A Collector Witnesses the Origins of "Premium Jeans"

Within the "communities" of people who love specific fashion, clothing becomes a unique method of communication that transcends language and background. Regardless of their positions as manufacturers, retailers, or consumers, they share their passion, and sometimes unexpected secrets are revealed.

This article explores the exchanges between collectors and insiders of Levi's limited denim line "Levi's® RED." The previous installment covered the Japanese scene (link). This time, we'll follow the "RED community" across the seas.

Even if there's no one around you who shares your hobby, you might find your place on social media. Nowadays, "communities" exist within hashtags and DMs. Gathered here are members of the Japanese collector group "RED no Kai" and three collectors who follow each other online.

Tyler Merkel from Michigan, USA. Entique Denim from Indonesia. And leviscollector, participating from the UK.

"I've been collecting RED for nearly 25 years, but there's hardly any connection between collectors. I have so much I want to talk about," says Tyler.

During the interview, everyone shared their accumulated love for RED, and cheers erupted each time collections were shared.

Tyler learned about RED from his brother in high school and loved it so much he even worked as a Levi's store employee for a time...

Entique Denim's gateway to jeans obsession was a Levi's mook published in Japan. And since there's virtually no RED in Indonesian vintage shops, he searches through local marketplace apps "Shopee" and "Tokopedia."

leviscollector's shock when accidentally discovering RED while searching for Big E on eBay...

Early models, sample pieces, store-exclusive capsule collections. Items range from bottoms and denim jackets to T-shirts, sweatshirts, shoes, and even slippers. Like solving a puzzle, the collectors reveal RED's variations.

They discovered "phantom RED" pieces that were never released from non-sale style books, and by comparing paper tags, even found denim that circulated with switched model names.

Then they touch on the most important piece—why was RED created? A person involved joins the conversation.

Testimony from inside Global Premium Team. 

Johan Soderlund is a denim designer behind Sweden's new denim brand "GRÅBRODERN." One of his significant career milestones was his work at Levi's.

"I worked at Levi's as a product manager from 1997 to 2001. The team I belonged to launched RED and LVC. I was developing the LVC products."

The late 90s to early 2000s when Johan was there was a period of hardship and rebirth for Levi's. They needed to restructure costs through factory closures and employee layoffs, reconnect an overstretched brand, and turn young people's eyes back to "jeans."

"To help achieve this, the 'Global Premium Team' was formed. Including myself, it was a small team of about ten people. Our mission was singular... to make Levi's 'cool' again, through innovative premium products"

The Global Premium Team was, in a word, a "special task force." While within the giant corporation of Levi's, they were given authority to move freely, completely unbound by the company's existing design, production, sales, and advertising rules. They excavated the company's history, cultivated factories, and in 1999 launched two concepts: "Levi's Vintage Clothing (LVC)" and "RED."

"LVC's purpose was to create the best possible historical replicas from the archive.

RED, on the other hand, mission was to create ’The Next Blueprint in Denim’. Its symbol was the world's first three-dimensionally cut jeans, designed by Rikke Korff"

Johan also revealed that both LVC and RED collections, in the early years, were overseen by a designer named Rikke Korff.

"When Rikke presented the RED idea, it was a completely new approach to denim design.

The right people, in the right place, at the right time, came together to create the collections... it was a truly creative era."

Memories of One Coat

At the turn of the century, Levi's was pursuing both past and future simultaneously. Each garment born from this now connects collectors worldwide. For example, the "1ST COAT" released in RED's first collection in 1999.

A masterpiece among masterpieces that every RED collector knows.

Kazuo from "RED no Kai" started collecting RED because of this coat, and Wanko says he "loved it so much I collected every size from XS to XL and gave one to my wife." Tyler laughs, "I wore it to my brother's wedding instead of a jacket."

Looking at the collectors wearing the "1ST COAT," even though they live far apart and didn't know each other's faces until today, they all feel like they're in the same story. It's a special experience available only to those who continued believing in their attachments amid rapidly changing trends.

The conversation between Johan and the collectors was so vast and detailed it cannot be fully captured in this article. However, for many fashion enthusiasts outside the "RED community," the Global Premium Team's work had a major impact. Johan explains:

"The RED Team was aiming to create a 'new blueprint' for jeans. It wasn't just about pushing the design aesthetics, but also development of selvedge denim fabrics with excellent Japanese Mills like 'NihonMenpu' and 'Nisshinbo.'"

RED and LVC's early fabrics were mostly made in Japan, attempting advanced initiatives in sustainability including hemp blends and natural indigo dyeing. Japanese denim production capacity greatly improved during this period.

"Advertising and sales weren't easy. At the time, Levi's didn't have a sales and distribution setup to cater for the premium level of the RED or LVC concepts. So we set up special stores without the Levi's sign, called 'Icon Stores,' with dedicated staff. Furthermore, we partnered with external PR firms and agencies."

Rather than using existing Levi's stores, they formed partnerships with select shops and promoted through them. Jack of All Trades, featured in the "Japanese edition" of this article, was one of them. Limited collaborations with shops and models for PR were released in rapid succession. Everything was rare, and no one could grasp the full picture.

—This is how RED became a "mysterious denim." It was all a project to evolve Levi's invention of five-pocket jeans and elevate everyday wear accessible to anyone into something mystical.

Today, we don't perceive "jeans" as cheap, outdated items. We've accepted them as a fashion genre where we enjoy silhouettes, materials, and history. There are brands creating premium denim worldwide and stores carrying those items. This "common sense" was likely part of the "new blueprint" drawn in 1999.

The "RED community" is a valuable community that knows the passion of that era. RED will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2029. We look forward to that moment.