The Levi's® Brand and Celebrated Up-and-Coming Fashion Designer Billy Reid Partner to Introduce a New, Limited-Edition, Menswear Collection

SAN FRANCISCO and NEW YORK, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- This September, the Levi's® brand is partnering with celebrated emerging men's fashion designer Billy Reid to unveil a limited-edition, high-end collection that couples the denim leader with Reid's Southern-bred approach to masculine design.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100908/NY60936 )

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100908/NY60936 )

Hand-crafted in the USA, the resulting Levi's® Workwear by Billy Reid assortment showcases the Levi's® brand's own workwear roots, incorporating utilitarian, highly functional styles, with Reid's refined yet modern tailoring.  The highly-anticipated range will be introduced through exclusive events held at the Bloomingdale's store at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue in New York City, along with Reid's namesake boutique in lower Manhattan. Both events will coincide with the second annual Fashion's Night Out shopping extravaganza in New York City on September 10.  The full collection will be available for purchase at select Bloomingdale's stores nationwide on www.bloomingdales.com, at all six Billy Reid store locations nationwide, and on www.billyreid.com.

"In terms of inspiration, our idea was to focus on the workwear and outdoor categories from the early days of the Levi's® brand.  We were able to work with some incredible people in the Levi's® archives and found an old work apron from the turn of the century, complete with all its natural wear, tear and stains. It just really seemed to stand out," offers winning designer, Billy Reid on the collaborative process. "The apron became a true muse and its influence is present in each piece of the collection. For example, the hunting jacket has a removable — and fully functioning — pocketed, work apron on the inside, providing an internal game pouch.  And we then used it to design the tote bag, which was developed by folding the apron into a bag shape."

For the third consecutive year, the Levi's® brand has teamed with the winner of GQ's "Best New Menswear Designers in America" project to create a collaboratively-designed, exclusive collection that marries the winning designer's vision with Levi's® denim and workwear heritage and the often-imitated, iconic Original 501® jean.  The highly-influential, New York-based menswear designer Billy Reid is the third annual recipient to be recognized through this competition which celebrates the groundbreaking work of up-and-coming American menswear fashion designers.  The "Best New Menswear Designers in America" was founded by GQ in conjunction with The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) in 2008.

"The idea was to take a specific assortment of hunting styles from our archives and to re-imagine and reconstruct them for the gamesman of today," said Carl Chiara, director of Men's and Women's Brand Concepts for the Levi's® Brand, the Americas.  "Each piece in the collection retains its original purpose but they become completely modern, not only through the precise tailoring and fit, but also through the choice of fabrics and finishing techniques we elected to use."

"We are always on the lookout for new and talented upcoming designers to add to our men's assortment, so we are thrilled to be a partner yet again in the Best New Designer in America program," says Kevin Harter, Bloomingdale's Vice President of Men's Fashion Direction. "And as one of the first upscale retailers to carry the Billy Reid collection, we are excited to bring yet another facet of his design to his growing fan base here at Bloomingdale's."

Raised in Amite, Louisiana, just south of the Mississippi line, Reid is one of the most celebrated, emerging stars in American men's apparel design today and is known for an aesthetic steeped in   Southern charm.  Currently designing out of his headquarters in Florence, Alabama, Reid marries a rugged yet dapper sensibility with artisanal, time-tested construction techniques, favoring fabrics with a lived-in yet refined hand. As winner of GQ's & CFDA's project, Reid was invited to visit and tour the extensive - and otherwise private - Levi's®   archives, located in the blue-jean-inventor's global headquarters in San Francisco.  Using Levi's® museum-like, apparel archive as a starting point, Reid teamed with Carl Chiara and the Levi's® design team to develop a workwear-focused range that speaks to the denim-leader's storied, highly practical origins, while injecting it with Reid's own laid-back, casual elegance.

The Levi's® Workwear by Billy Reid collection consists of a tightly-edited assortment of ten menswear styles.  Among these, the cotton jersey, crewneck pieces feature an exclusive Calabama graphic, a play on the mingling of aesthetics between the denim-leader's California-based headquarters and Alabama, the state Reid calls home. Beautifully-crafted, the collection consists of:

• Heavy Canvas "Apron" Tool Bag
• Re-conceptualized Archival, Rigid Selvedge, 501® Jean
• Sun-bleached Red Sweatshirt with custom Calabama graphic
• Sun-bleached Green Sweatshirt with custom Calabama graphic
• Sun-bleached Red Cotton Crew T-shirt with custom Calabama graphic
• Rinsed, Dark Indigo Denim Woven Button-front shirt
• Heavy Black Wool Trucker Jacket
• Heavily Distressed Twill Hunting Coat with Detachable Canvas Apron
• White, Washed Cotton Oxford Woven Button-front shirt
• Heavily Distressed 505® Straight Fit Work Pant

The highly-collectible Levi's® Workwear by Billy Reid collection will range in price from $45 for a Calabama cotton crew t-shirt to $295 for the heavy twill Hunting Coat with detachable apron.  The range will be carried at Billy Reid stores in Texas — Houston and Dallas — New York City; Nashville, Tennessee; Florence, Alabama; and Charleston, South Carolina. It will also be sold in Bloomingdale's stores in: New York — 59th Street, Soho and Roosevelt Field — Aventura, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, San Diego and Costa Mesa in California; Chevy Chase, Maryland; Short Hills, New Jersey; Atlanta, Georgia; and Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.  The collection will be available online at www.bloomingdales.com and on www.billyreid.com.

The Levi's® Workwear by Billy Reid collection is the latest endeavor in an ongoing series of special Levi's® products and styles that are constructed, finished and manufactured in the United States, using imported materials.  Previous Levi's® Made in the USA lines include collaborative limited-edition collections developed with Filson, Brooks Brothers, Opening Ceremony, Robert Geller and Engineered Garments.

About the Levi's® Brand

The Levi's® brand epitomizes classic American style and effortless cool.  Since their invention by Levi Strauss & Co. in 1873, Levi's® jeans have become the most recognizable and imitated clothing in the world – capturing the imagination and loyalty of people for generations. Today, the Levi's® brand portfolio continues to evolve through a relentless pioneering and innovative spirit that is unparalleled in the apparel industry.  Our range of leading jeanswear and accessories are available in more than 110 countries, allowing individuals around the world to express their personal style.  For more information about the Levi's® brand, its products and stores, please visit http://levi.com.

About Bloomigdale's

Bloomingdale's is America's only nationwide, full-line, upscale department store and a division of Macy's, Inc. It was founded in 1872 and currently operates 41 stores in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Illinois, Minnesota, Georgia, Florida, Nevada, and California.  In addition, in 2010 Bloomingdale's opened its first international location in Dubai and will open four US outlet stores. Be sure to follow Bloomingdale's on Facebook (www.facebook.com/bloomingdales) or Twitter (www.twitter.com/bloomingdales), and for more information, or to shop any time, visit www.bloomingdales.com.

About Billy Reid

Billy Reid's modern approach to traditional American sportswear bears its authenticity in its Southern roots and workwear influenced heritage. Reid's twists on classics such as hand tailored suiting, hunting-inspired outerwear, classic shirting, and sportswear made to endure a lifetime represent the core of his men's, women's, and accessories collections. GQ and the CFDA awarded Billy the Best New Designer in America Award in February 2010. In July 2010, Billy was named a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist for his namesake collection.

About the CFDA

The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc, (CFDA) is a not-for-profit trade association that leads industry-wide initiatives and whose membership consists of more than 370 of America's foremost womenswear, menswear, jewelry, and accessory designers. In addition to hosting the annual CFDA Fashion Awards, which recognize the top creative talent in the industry, the organization offers programs which support professional development and scholarships, including the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, the Geoffrey Beene Design Scholar Award, the Liz Claiborne Scholarship Award, and the CFDA/Teen Vogue Scholarship. Member support is provided through the Business Services Network, a high-profile group of companies offering designers strategic opportunities. The CFDA Foundation, Inc. is a separate, not-for-profit organized to mobilize the membership to raise funds for charitable causes. Through the Foundation, the CFDA created and manages Fashion Targets Breast Cancer; raises funds for HIV/AIDS organizations with 7th on Sale; addresses the issue of model health with The CFDA Health Initiative; and is a key participant in other programs such as the annual Fashion's Night Out. For more information, please visit www.CFDA.com.

About GQ

GQ is the leading men's general-interest magazine with a monthly readership of 7 million readers. It is available in print, online at GQ.com, and as an app at iTunes.com.  The magazine is published by Condé Nast, a division of Advance Publications.   Condé Nast operates in twenty-five countries and is the world leader in exceptional content creation.

SOURCE Levi Strauss