Last year Levi's made waves when they dove into the white-hot vintage jean market and launched their Authorized Vintage collection in select stores across the globe. The much-hyped line of pre-worn jeans and Trucker jackets for men and women is finally available in Canada at the recently opened Levi's store at the CF Toronto Eaton Centre.
Levi's Authorized Vintage collection is a way for consumers to access authentic vintage jeans from the 1960s, 70s and 80s from the brand itself. The collection of over 50,000 authentic, mostly US-made jeans was made possible when the brand acquired a massive vintage collection from a single owner, who had accumulated the pre-worn and personalized pieces over the course of two decades.
In an interview with GQ Style last year, Levi's revealed that the archive-quality denim stash was purchased from Jeff Fuller, a former Santa Monica-based vintage denim dealer. Fuller had been toying with the idea of selling his collection when he met James Curleigh, president of Levi's Brand and executive vice president of Levi Strauss & Co. at a Las Vegas trade show in 2016. The denim stalwart picked up Fuller's entire collection — the largest vintage stock in existence — and launched their own vintage business at select stores in November 2017.
The collection hadn't been available in Canada... until Levi's opened the doors to their new Canadian flagship store last month.
The 5,300 square foot Canadian flagship store at the CF Toronto Eaton Centre is the only store in the country to carry the Authorized Vintage collection of unaltered and carefully re-mastered pairs of 501, 505 and 517 jeans, shorts and Trucker jackets. The store also includes a permanent Levi's Tailor Shop, where customers can customize new denim essentials and vintage pieces right in store.
Patches, embroidery... the options are endless.
"We are elevating the consumer experience by putting customization front and centre," said Roy Bagattini, Executive Vice President and President of Levi Strauss Americas. "The heartbeat of the store is a Tailor Shop, where customers can have their favourite denim products altered and customized by a team of specialized tailors, as well as custom T-shirt printing."
The Levi’s Authorized Vintage collection is available at Canada's newly opened Toronto flagship store, along with Levi's seasonal collections and limited-edition Toronto-centric apparel. Prices start around $168 for unaltered vintage pieces.
