The first pair of Levi’s wasn’t designed so much as reworked: work pants rebuilt with copper rivets so the pockets wouldn’t tear. That clever addition turned Levi’s jeans into the wardrobe staple they are today. Fittingly, the brand’s third collaboration with Tokyo-based Sacai draws on that same instinct, since reshaping familiar garments is the ethos the avant-garde label is built on.
“Our long-standing partnership allowed us to develop a deeper understanding of each brand’s values and potential, and to explore how we could push those boundaries even further,” shares Sacai founder Chitose Abe. Abe, who trained at Comme des Garçons under Rei Kawakubo and Junya Watanabe before launching Sacai in 1999, has become known for splicing wardrobe staples together, reimagining them in different textures and patterns. And this collaboration really shows how far that can stretch with denim.
While the first two Levi’s x Sacai collaborations reimagined Levi’s signature styles, the third pushes the San Francisco-based heritage brand’s silhouettes even further, with creative accents and volume at the forefront. “Proportions are exaggerated, familiar details appear in unexpected places, and classic constructions are reworked into something entirely new,” Leo Gamboa, vice president, merchandising and design collaborations, at Levi’s, shares with . “There’s a tension between heritage and experimentation that runs through the collection, and that’s where it becomes really interesting.”
That dance between form and function shows up across the 12-piece collection in subtle yet surprising ways. Take the Sherpa Jacket, for instance: a roomy denim jacket bundled in faux shearling with leather pockets, using the same selvedge denim seen in the earlier Levi’s and Sacai collections. Or the blouson denim jacket, with detailing that includes Sacai's signature pocket stitched onto the sleeve, plus elastic at the cuffs and hem that gives it a puffed, rounded shape. The collection’s two jackets are offered in both men’s and women’s and come in rigid and washed indigo.
The pants, which play with scale on their own terms, are just as distinctive as the outerwear; each comes with its own denim belt, which is a feature carried over from the previous collabs. The wide-leg pair is slouchy and easy, with Sacai's own buttons at the belt loops. The flares get a second set of back pockets stacked above the first. Plus, every jacket comes in a wash that matches a pair of pants (also available in rigid and washed indigo), so they can be worn as a full denim look or split up. “I was confident that, through this process, we could create something new,” Abe adds.
Three collaborations in, Levi’s keeps returning to Sacai for the same reason. “What makes Sacai so compelling is Chitose’s instinct for deconstruction, taking familiar garments apart and rebuilding them in ways that completely shift how you see them,” Gamboa shares.
The Levi’s x Sacai collection is available at Levi.com and at select Levi’s and Sacai stores.
Shop the Levi’s x Sacai collection
