As Levi’s celebrates its 150th birthday, Esquire spotlights a special-order service for the most discerning denim junkie
or Matthew McConaughey, clothing doesn’t necessarily improve with age. Your bespoke suit, for example, has a half-life of around 10 years, depending on how often you wear it, and how cavalier you are with the calories. But, providing they’re cut from quality denim, jeans generally look better after five, 10, maybe even 20 years of wear. How to guarantee they’ll go the distance? Get them made for you by the team at Lot-1, Levi’s lesser-known special-order department.
The story begins with a visit to the service’s London HQ, a vaulted, sunlit space near Carnaby Street in Soho, and a meeting with Lizzie Radcliffe, Lot-1’s master tailor. First, you choose the denim from a book of swatches that indicates how each will perform over time. Everything is un-distressed, straight off the loom, from a selection of the best mills in the business, including Kaihara in Japan, Isko in Turkey and Cone Mills in China.
Next come the details — things such as the stitching colour, buttons, rivets and branding. In the main, people order classic jeans and denim jackets, but there have been a few unorthodox commissions over the years. One couple requested a pair of matching denim waistcoats; another client ordered jeans with an exposed circular zip around the front opening.
garment’s proportions will suit your lifestyle. Radcliffe trained across Regent Street at the fabled tailor, Edward Sexton, and that spirit permeates the Lot-1 studio. “The Savile Row model of knowledge sharing recognises the strengths of each [team] member, allowing for the best garments to be made,” she says. “The last person in is taught by the last person in before them and no one is too old to learn something new.
Much like a tailoring house, the Lot-1 studio evolves, but stays true to its codes. It just happens to be that the codes cater to slouches and lounge lizards too. ○
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