Fashion often borrows inspiration from music, with brands integrating style from specific decades, cities and popular artists. The Spring/Summer ’21 Levi’s Vintage collection, called Loose Fix, pays homage to the “Manchester sound” club scene of the late ’80s, when baggy denim, colorful parkas and sportswear-inspired looks dominated the space.
Named after an iconic English rock album of the era, Happy Mondays’ “Loose Fix,” the collection features brightly colored T-shirts and jackets and updated versions of Levi’s archived men’s bottoms, including the 1984 501 customized jean. The style is distinguished by its slight flare and a colorful paint drip embroidery on the back right pocket.
The range also travels slightly farther back in time with its 1970s Orange Tab 517 jean, updated with a looser fit and longer inseam to nod to the baggier denim moments of the Manchester sound scene. The brand’s classic Type III trucker jacket was reimagined in a sky blue hue made with a light indigo non-stretch Ottoman weave, while a replica of a 1950s suede bomber jacket is modernized with an oversized fit.
The collection embraces some of the key denim trends of today, with looser fits and cheerful colors replacing the dark wash skinny jeans that have dominated for years. Also featured in the collection are ’80s fashion staples such as boxy T-shirts, chinos and oversized anoraks.
“A lot of young kids in Manchester in the ’80s either couldn’t afford the latest fashions or just wanted to stand out from the crowd so they started buying old Levi’s flares in vintage clothes stalls around town, and they’d buy them too big so they could wear them oversized and mix them with sportswear and anoraks,” said Paul O-Neill, Levi’s Vintage Clothing’s head designer. “Our Loose Fix collection is paying tribute to that scene and bands like Happy Mondays who were young working-class kids making ground breaking music while getting up to all sorts of mischief.”
Diesel also recently revived some of its key ’80s denim pieces in a new collection called Diesel x Diesel, which features 24 revamped styles from the era. According to product intelligence company Trendalytics’ first report of 2021, nostalgic denim—specifically from the ’70s and ’80s—is a main trend to watch.
The Loose Fix collection is now available online, in-stores and on the Levi’s app, and retails for $115-$1,200.
