Levi Strauss & Co. is ready to unveil their latest work of wearable art: the first image of Damien Hirst's jeans for Levi's. The Tate Gallery Turner Prize-winning British artist Damien Hirst of the formaldehyde-preserved animals and diamond-encrusted skull designed a collection as part of The Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, known as Warhol Factory X Levi's Damien Hirst.
"From Damien Hirst, to Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, among countless others, each of these spirited luminaries wore the Original 501 jean as the ultimate "blank canvas" for self-expression and individuality, said Levi's vice president of marketing, Robert Cameron. "In celebration of this, we are both thrilled and honored for our continued partnership with the The Andy Warhol Foundation and to have a creative leader such as Damien Hirst bring his unique perspective to our iconic 501 jean."
The jeans will be unveiled during New York's Spring 2008 Fashion Week at a runway show at the Gagosian gallery in Chelsea and the line will arrive in stores in January as part of the 2008 season and will feature both men's and women's selections. And it looks like life really does imitate art: Hirst's black jeans get an evening-appropriate boost from the mini rhinestone skull embellishment adorning them.
Damien Hirst -
Hirst, whose artwork includes an actual human skull studded with diamonds, will be lending his talents to Levi Strauss. The artist will be working with the denim giant on 2008 collection of the San Francisco company's Warhol Factory X Levi's label.
Hirst is best known for his Natural History series, where he preserves dead animals in formaldehyde and presents them as art.
Launched in 2006, the Warhol Factory X Levi's label paid tribute to the pop-culture art made famous by the late American artist Andy Warhol. Priced between $190-$250 for jeans and $80-$300 for tops, the said collection is only available at such high-end stores as Barneys New York, Fred Segal and American Rag.
Update: since this post, there have been developments with the Warhol factory X Levi's products, including a store and a limited edition book, read all about it over at notcot.org.