LEVI STRAUSS & CO. SPRING 2019

SPRING 2019

OCTOBER 2017, JANUARY 2018 DEVELOPMENT

This season proved to be extremely challenging again which is always rewarding. Even with 35 years of experience, Miz's design direction shook my confidence a little, but due to her clear, precise communication, the never-ending support of the Hong Kong and Sri Lanka teams, and the flexibility of the vendors, we made it happen...with a few hiccups, of course.

This season, we see patchwork taken up a notch with the addition of plastisol-printed natural denim combined with natural denim bleached to white and indigo denim finished to various shades, all very carefully balanced due to the high shrinkage % of shrink-to-fit fabric, the only fabric allowed to be used in 501 jeans and shorts, and combined with an almost fully made 501 jean to maintain the fit you love, with a few zippers thrown in to make sure we don't get bored. Think juggler balancing a ball, a bowling pin, a spectator, an orange, and finally, a very sharp dagger on top...!

We return to hybrid truckers, our WYSIWYG's of outerwear. Is that a trucker over a hoody or hoody wearing a trucker? Is it a windbreaker or a trucker? It's a trucker; wait, no, it's a hoody? Designed to look like a combination of garments, we only had to finish most of one, your favorite trucker, to deliver the beautiful depth of authentic washed and worn denim, and avoid discoloration of the knit fabric from bleach.

We participate in all-category Peanuts Collaboration and we drive 501 Day with the golden Anniversary Jean.

Embellishments fall off, as in the case of the crystal braid and studs, but we fix them with the modern conveniences of sewing and baby gripper tack technology. We hit an all-time high with allover, multi-color, heavy embroidery on shrink-to-fit 501 denim BEFORE wash to ensure the 501 fit is maintained AFTER wash. For my fellow apparel builders, the Wipeout course:

- Very few mills in the world embroider lightweight denim with allover embroidery, let alone heavy denim, and mostly for skirts and shorts due to the fabric cost. One snagged stitch is a huge loss in fabric yardage.

- Shrink-to-fit 501 fabric is woven at a mill with no embroidery facilities. Now why would anyone want to do that???!!!

- The mill would not want to assume liability for any embroidery errors and the embroiderer would not want to assume the liability for any fabric issues, and neither have the capacity to inspect each other's work to do so.

- Embroidery literally pokes a ton of holes in fabric reducing fabric strength. High SPI (stitches per inch) acts like scissors on rigid, unwashed fabric which is as stiff as paper.

- Embroidery holds fabric construction in place, not a problem on pre-shrunk fabric and not allowed for 501's, but could wreak havoc on 501 shrink-to-fit rigid fabric once the fabric is washed. Remember that pretty white linen embroidered top you accidentally threw into the laundry with your whites? When it came out of the dryer looking like an apple doll and ironing would revive it, you realized you should have just thrown it in the trash.

I partnered with our amazing Hong Kong team, providing my past experience with allover embroidered lightweight denim during my Express days. After a few 1am negotiations, I conceded to the win-win solution for us all: embroider on rigid cut garment panels. The vendor partnered with his embroiderer to calibrate the embroidery stitch tension and SPI to the shrinkage of fabric so the embroidery would condense as the fabric shrunk, avoiding the risk of loose thread snagging, minimizing embroidery and fabric wastage, protecting the 501 fit, and making it look as if it was all done on finished fabric! Truly an amazing feat in development history...well, my 35 years of development history!

On that note, this was my last season with Levi Strauss & Co. It was a great ride, In 4 short years, I went from volunteering to transfer to an underperforming business, agreeing to financial and political position reductions because I knew I could help to make things better, being handed the sleeping giant of Women's 501 which I thought was going to be a walk in the park, to:

* becoming the Edward Scissorhands of Women's 501, creating beautiful, fantastic topiary stories in denim;

* becoming a 501 Keeper Of The Keys (KOTK), this having extra special countenance as a native San Franciscan;

* building Women's 501 CT, 501 Stretch, 501 Skinny, Wedgie Jean

* building the current Sherpa Trucker standard and winning a 2017 Excellence Award for driving double-digit growth in Tops with my trucker development;

* building fashion vignettes with quick-turn Capsules to eventually help LS & Co. lead trend, according to WGSN and WHAT????, delivering to Opening Ceremony and again WHAT???, to being the Ben Hur of the Macy's Fall season chariot with both Men's and Women's chargers, Western Vibrations in 2017 and the allover studded trucker to 2018 Old Skool aka Varsity logo sequin stripes and reversible truckers;

*working with an amazing designer, Miz Koda, who still dreams, the Wonder Woman of retail, Kelly Wang, taking on the fight for what's right for the business, the forces of Good, the Hong Kong and Sri Lanka teams, and the vendors, all of whom make the beautiful world of 501.

So what's next? You'll have to stay tuned and see. Remember, if you love what you do, everything will work out.

Be Brave, Be Unique, Be the Leader.

WEB