History in the jeans

Every pair of jeans has a story. I have one that’s ripped at one knee, a souvenir from when my heel got caught in a storm drain and I skidded — not just tripped — on the sidewalk. There is a light pair of jeans somewhere in my closet that’s turned yellow, evidence of a botched laundry job from the not-so-distant past. Every pair I own has zero cost-per-wear now, worn and loved to death that I think they’ve grown souls.

I can’t imagine what kind of stories Lee Jeans historian Jean Svadlenak came across when she was curating for the Lee Archive Tour, a celebration of the brand’s 125-year story. “We have thousands of pieces in the Lee archive in Kansas,” she said. Of these thousands, Jean picked the most iconic to tour around the Asia-Pacific region; from Beijing and Japan, the tour arrived in the Philippines in May, opening at the Glorietta Activity Center and culminating at the recent Philippine Fashion Week.

Twenty-seven historic Lee items collected from different parts of the world represented the timeline of Lee Jeans’ purposeful design. “Lee has always worked to provide innovative fabrics and designs to meet the requirements of everyday life,” said Jean, and these requirements, which have dramatically evolved over the last century, made for an interesting showcase. The archive was divided into categories: Work Wear (mechanics, 1910-1919), Western Wear (cowboys, 1920-1929), and Leisure Wear (casual fashion, 1950-1959).

A woman’s Union-All from 1918 is the most vintage in the archive, representing Lee’s roots in functionality. The very first Union-All, primarily designed for the male car mechanic to address the inconvenience of jackets and trousers riding up or down while they worked under cars, was created by Lee. Then the brand created the women’s Union-All for women who took over positions left vacant by men that have left the army during the First World War.

The space also featured Buddy Lee, Lee’s 92-year-old, cherub-faced mascot, wearing customized and shrunken-to-proportion Lee 101+ denim replicas, complete with miniature hardware and stitch detail.

At the exhibit’s launch in Glorietta, a fashion show, styled by Daryl Chang, showcased an evolved style from the brand, with lots of boxy tops, patchwork, frayed edges and the denim attitude to match. “The pivotal moment of denim in fashion history was in the 1950s, when Marlon Brando and James Dean wore denim jeans in the movies. Since then, it’s been a symbol of rebellion,” says Jean. The show certainly had a mutinous flair, with the slick hair and tough-as-denim looks on the models, and the Philippine All-Stars dancing up a storm in their Lee Jeans.

In the 21st century, jeans remain a symbol of rebellion — wearing them is daring to embrace comfort and function in a fashion-obsessed world.

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For more information on on Lee Jeans’ 125th anniversary, visit lee125.com.