It was the 1850s and the Californian Gold Rush drew people around the world to America. Levi Strauss too migrated to the US hoping to make a fortune. He started his business by selling dry goods to the miners under the name Levi Strauss & Co. In those days, miners were in need of durable pants to wear for work.
To fill this gap, Levi hired a tailor to make durable pants out of tent canvas. Later, the tent canvas was substituted with more comfortable denim. His tailor Jacob Davis found out that if copper rivets were added to the stitching of pocket seams, the trousers will be more durable. The miners liked the new overalls that Levi produced and soon he got the patent for the new design. The demand increased and his design soon became one of the best-selling clothing items of the world.
After the First World War, this work wear underwent transformation. In 1934, the company introduced jeans for women and two years later, they started using a Red Tab to the back pocket to distinguish Levi’s jeans from others. By the 1950s, it became more of a fashion statement than work wear. Apart from jeans, Levi Strauss started producing jackets, shirts, skirts, and belts. The company expanded to other countries and as a means of cutting down the costs, many of the factories in the US were closed down.
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