Levi’s celebrates 50 years in Brazil with the rescue of the aesthetics of the 1990s

“When we talk about Levi’s, everyone has a history of affection or experience with a product of the brand”, comments Renata Sernagiotto, marketing manager at Levi’s Brazil

In May 1873, Levi Strauss & Co. officially received the patent for the invention of riveted workwear made from the twill fabric known as blue denim. The first jeans were created 149 years ago, and Levi’s has been present in Brazil for 50 years. To commemorate the dates, the century-old brand decided to rescue stories, celebrate different generations and, of course, launch pieces. “When we talk about Levi’s, everyone has a history of affection or some experience with a product of the brand”, comments Renata Sernagiotto, marketing manager at Levi’s Brasil. In an interview with Casual EXAME, Sernagiotto tells about the brand’s celebrations and the launch of contemporary versions of women’s jeans and shorts named 501 90’s, rescuing the aesthetics of the late 1990s.

This year Levi’s celebrates 50 years in Brazil and almost 150 years of the 501 model. Why the choice to rescue this aesthetic from the late 1990s? The rescue of the 1990s took place on top of the 501 fit that we launched this semester. So the collection comes with this inspiration, with this perfume from the 1990s, very inspired by a photo of a look that Drew Barrymore wore in that decade, and that we decided to rescue. How is the style of dressing of Brazilians different from Europe and the United States? When we look at the Northern Hemisphere, of course I think there is a great differentiation of bodies. The Brazilian woman is much curvier, so we need the experience of the Brazilian woman going to the store. Levi’s do Brasil works with reverse seasonality, thinking when the temperature in Brazil is the highest, in the Northern Hemisphere it is the lowest and vice versa. So we compose our collection and build it with that in mind. I think that reflects a lot more for the tops. What is the representation of the Brazilian market for Levi’s? Brazil has one of the largest presences in Levi’s social media engagement globally. On TikTok we are tied with Spain and Italy and only below the USA and Mexico in number of followers and views of this social network, with 3%. Brazil is also the largest country in terms of revenue in South America, and has the largest presence of mainline stores in the Grand Latam cluster, with 77 stores nationwide. What will the 501’s 150th anniversary be like? We are calling this moment a warm-up, and now with campaigns with authentic voices, guests tell their stories to strengthen our brand messages. These are globally chosen talents who have stories with the brand. We want to rescue our heritage, because we know it has a very strong brand strength with older generations because they have already experienced many historical moments with the brand in different cultural movements. But we are also present in this new generation that wants to transform the planet and in these cultural and behavioral movements.

Are the new generations you refer to generation Z? I am referring to generation Z. We want as a great strength to bring this new consumer to look at the brand more and more. Our consumer audience numbers have only been growing because they are so close to our brand values. When we talk about Levi’s, everyone has a history of affection or some experience with a product of the brand. We decided to rescue the stories of consumers with the brand through “Histórias de Bolso” on our social networks. Levi’s pieces have high durability, it’s common to find pants and jackets in thrift stores… It’s a diamond when you find a Levi’s in a thrift store. Our idea is that the consumer does not just go to a store to buy a new product. The rescue, when we talk about value, is this. It’s understanding that our product is so iconic for building your style, your authentic self-expression, that we want the consumer to buy your Levi’s at any point of contact. It can be in a store, in a thrift store, on a circular fashion platform. Products are built to last, so if it doesn’t make sense to you either, make it last longer.

Source: Exam