It may sound quaint today but in the early Sixties, wearing the right pair of jeans was considered an act of rebellion. Nowhere is this more evident than the album cover for Bob Dylan’s “The Freewheeling Bob Dylan” released in 1963. It’s an iconic look for Dylan, a tan suede trucker jacket worn over a pair of Levi’s jeans with his hands tucked nonchalantly in his pocket, with his then girlfriend Suze Rotolo clutching his arm lovingly as the couple stroll through Greenwich Village. Just looking at the cover takes you back to a more innocent time, right before youth culture and its accompanying fashion exploded.
Levi’s partnered with the producers of “A Complete Unknown,” a new bio-pic which stars Timothée Chalamet as Dylan. The movie is in theatres December 25. Instead of the usual movie merch, Levi’s design director Paul O’Neill of Levi’s Vintage Clothing worked with costume designer Arianne Phillips on the wardrobe for the film. Along with that, it created a capsule collection featuring three garments: a two-pocket suede motorcycle jacket, Dylan’s “D” belt, and a recreation of the 501 XX jeans that Rotolo sewed a triangular gusset into so they would fit over his boots, according to Business of Fashion. The look is suprisingly contemporary, while at the same time being period accurate. Too bad the prices are more modern at $1,200 for the jacket and $495 for the jeans and belt, which come as a set. The collab is unusual, reminiscent of when Janie Bryant, the costume designer on the television show, Mad Men worked with Brooks Brothers on suits for the series and later produced a small collection of mid-century inspired garments for Banana Republic. Product placement in films is also nothing new but rarely are products made in collaboration with a costume designer.
The original fit marked a pivotal moment, just before Dylan went electric, going from folk to rock. After this, Dylan started hanging out with The Beatles and soon started wearing Levi’s Super Slims jeans over Beatle boots, which are also seen throughout the film. The Beatles returned the favor by wearing brown suede trucker jackets on the cover of Rubber Soul.
Levi’s Vintage Clothing is justifiably proud of its heritage and makes a point of maintaining an archive and recreating looks from it on a regular basis. True jeans obsessives can even buy a note perfect recreation of the very first 501 jeans from 1890, the year that Levi’s lost its patent on its famous rivets and began using numbers to distinguish their products from copycat manufacturers. You can purchase the collection from the Levi’s web site, starting December 27.
The collaboration between Levi’s and “A Complete Unknown” goes beyond fashion—it’s about capturing the zeitgeist and offering modern audiences a tangible piece of history. You can literally step into Dylan’s jeans. The garments are more than just costumes; they represent a sartorial journey through Dylan’s transformative years, echoing the shifts in music, politics, and personal identity that defined the era.