Pop Art Meets Denim

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The New York Sun

A collaboration between Levi Strauss & Co. and British artist Damien Hirst brought members of the fashion, art, design, and Hollywood elite to Chelsea’s Gagosian Gallery on Saturday night. The result was a splashy collection for the Warhol Factory X Levi’s line that sampled heavily from neon attire of the 1980s, and the work of the iconic Pop artist, Andy Warhol.

Among the highlights were wildly colorful, paint-splattered jackets and stovepipe jeans paired with Ray-Ban sunglasses and white T-shirts featuring Levi’s instantly recognizable 501 logo. Evoking an era when the punk underground and art school dropouts ruled New York’s downtown, one model strolled the runway with an oversize palette in hand.

Mr. Hirst, whose diamond-encrusted human skull recently sold for a record-setting $100 million, brought some of the same wicked sensibility to the denim brand’s spring 2008 collection. A number of skin-tight, unisex jeans in black and gray were studded with hardware — some in the shape of skulls. And sheer black tops for men, and Lurex and patent leather miniskirts for women marked a naughty turn for the wholesome American jeans company.

Levi’s designer Adrian Nyman and his team created some patterns by mashing works by Mr. Hirst and Warhol, a privilege afforded by a 2006 licensing agreement between the Warhol Foundation and the Levi’s company that gives the jeans-maker access to Warhol’s works.


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