Respect Authority

Who knows how a gigantic clothing company like Levi’s expects to get away with this, but for some reason I have a feeling the words “huge out of court settlement” will be involved.

Levi’s teamed up with small-time company and obvious dogshit conveyor belt GMI-USA to produce a run of sneakers. The idea behind the relationship is that the line would ultimately cost Levi’s less than if the brand had headed the project itself, while at the same time, the smaller company got to slap Levi’s ubiquitous logo on their shameless bootlegs to help push the product. Everybody wins, right? Heh, well… kind of… nobody does, actually.

Unfortunately for Levi’s, while they may have saved a few bucks, they got a slew of pathetic knock-offs of the Supra Skytop, Vans Authentic and Converse Chuck Taylor in return. Of course, copying three of the most easily recognizable models in the entire shoe industry only makes it that much easier to spot your illegitimate clones. So nice work, morons, but there ain’t no more room for half-steppin’ in the shoe game. You get what you pay for, bitch. Read More ›

After two years of preparations, Levi’s just debuted illustrator Mia Nilsson’s art wall for their 501 “Live Unbuttoned” campaign. Together with Vice Magazine, Levi’s sifted through 200 potential candidates before deciding on Mia Nilsson for the project. Nilsson’s illustrations are typically playful and nostalgic, reminiscent of the types of drawings one would find in an old children’s book. Her wall for Levi’s is no exception, featuring a diverse cast of fun characters all wearing, you guessed it, Levi’s 501s.

Located At Grevturegatan 8, Stockholm

It’s interesting to watch the advertising industry catch up to underground culture. Street art is sometimes a way to fight or recontextualize advertising, and at the very least always an available method of questioning it. With this campaign, and campaigns like it, we see a blurring of the lines between street art and advertising as we currently understand it.

[Hypebeast]