This coming Monday, May 20, 2013, marks a milestone moment, both in the world of fashion and in American history. 140 years ago to this day, the original denim tailor Jacob Davis and San Francisco-based businessman Levi Strauss received the patent to their copper riveted waist overalls, marking the birth of one of the world’s most celebrated garments: the blue jeans.

With such an extensive and treasured history, Levi’s has ensured that its record of timeless products are never forgotten. Safely preserved inside their headquarters in San Francisco lies an archive of over 20,000 rare and unique examples of Levi’s clothing and artifacts dating back as early as 1873. The figure behind this vast accumulation is none other than California native Lynn Downey, who for the past 24 years, has been acting as Levi’s in-house archivist, overseeing the preservation and documentation of the company’s revered archival collection. It has been said that Lynn has done more for Levi’s history than any other person, piecing together their broken history (bringing back and collecting what Levi’s had lost in the [1906] earthquake and subsequent fire ) they have had over the past 140 years. An idol in the denim industry, Lynn has been championed for solely for curating Levi’s private library of denim from a mere 5,000-piece back-catalogue, to a collection that’s now worth approximately £1.9m.

Lynn’s UK visit was part of Levi’s ongoing celebrations as part of their 140th anniversary of the 501 jean. Lynn travelled with her a selection of rare archive 501 jeans from as early as 1873. What made the event even more special was that this was the first time the archive 501 jeans have traveled from the archives in San Francisco to the UK. Some of the key pieces included one of the earliest 501s from 1880, the 1890 501 “Calico Mine” found in the Mojave Desert in 1948, as well as more novelty pieces like an ’80s 501 signed by none other than Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones.

Taking an in-depth retrospective of the Levi’s history and the evolution of the 501, Lynn talked the small crowd through some of the key features of the jeans on display as well as reciting a few tales behind each of the pieces. Her enthusiasm and passion behind the product, quick wit and excellent sense of humor made the already rich history even more pleasant to hear. After Lynn’s exceptional presentation, the audience was invited to take an up-close look at some of these relics. Here’s what we saw that day, accompanied by some of Lynn’s fabulous quotes.

“The five-pocket jean started life as a four-pocket jean in 1873. This is the closest to what we have so far to what the original would have looked like. I can only date it to a span of dates because certain design features lived in combination of others. I know this was made 1873 – 1886.”

“I also buy the vintage photographs, letters, papering, marketing — everything that expresses how we did our business, how we sold the jeans, how people felt about Levi’s.” - Letter sent to Levi’s from customer dated 1954

Images courtesy of Levi’s and Selectism. 

Carey Mulligan in Christian Dior, Cara Delevingne in Burberry Prorsum, Nicole Kidman in Christian Dior

The Cannes Film Festival kicked off its 66th annual celebration of this year’s motion pictures on Wednesday. The twelve-day event, which takes place along France’s serene Côte d’Azur, began its opening ceremony with Baz Lhurmann’s, highly-anticipated, adaptation of F.Scott Fitzgerald’s beloved novel The Great Gatsby.

Stars came out to the inauguration – hosted by French actress and Chanel-muse Audrey Tatou – in droves. Everyone from Carey Mulligan and Leonardo DiCaprio – who hasn’t been seen at the fete since 2007 – to Julianne Moore and Christoph Waltz made an appearance.

Leading ladies opted for ladylike frocks during the day, with Christian Dior-inspired New Look silhouettes that bring to mind the refined elegance of Grace Kelly. Nicole Kidman stood out in a striking white, strapless and floral-embroidered ensemble by Dior. In the evening the stars arrived in their finest dresses, the atmosphere emulating Old Hollywood. Gentlemen wore slim-fitted linen or cotton suits with a casual, yet sophisticated aesthetic for day and looked exceptionally dapper in sleek tuxedos for the evening.

We look forward for more to come, as the ceremonies continue throughout the coming week.

Tobey Maguire, Baz Luhrmann, Carey Mulligan and Leonardo DiCaprio

Still under construction, and set currently to open in July 2013, The Cliffs at LIC boasts and impressive stat sheet. Complete with 16 foot top-off bouldering walls, 45 foot walls that allow for routes up to 65 feet in length and a minimum of 250 routes upon finalization.  A sight that would knock the average person off their feet walking into, it makes a true climber’s heart go pitter-patter. Follow along with their construction progress on their Facebook page where they have been posting a bevy of photos of the process.

Also on-site are full locker rooms, showers, an impressive pro shop and a separate climbing area for parties and corporate retreats. After touring the facilities we even had a chance to hop up and give the bouldering wall a quick try.

Thanks again to Bill, Gareth and the rest of the team at The Cliffs for giving us a sneak peek at the new facility. We can’t wait to come back out in July once they’re fully open!

- Erin Mintun

The Children’s Team can’t think of a better way to kick off the summer season than with an issue of the new Danish online children’s magazine Lille Nord. Showcasing Scandanavian artists, designers, products, home decor and shops, the magazine is chock full of gorgeous editorials, clever craft projects, decadent recipes and much more.

An annual event based in Amsterdam, this “activist” conference explores the power of design to address urgent issues of today’s world. Located across the capital over two thought-provoking days, the event schedule is full of international speakers, workshops and 12 break-out sessions a day.

Speakers come from a wide array of design-related roles ranging from urban planners to educators. This year the event theme is Collaboration and the event sees talks from Urban-Think Tank, head of design at Twitter, Mike Kruzeniski, and Mexican artist Pedro Reyes. Throughout the conference a book is being compiled detailing the outcomes of the event and will be presented at the end of the conference.

Founded by a group of Dutch designers, whose mission was to create a multidisciplinary design event in an international setting, What Design Can Do aims to become the largest design conference in Europe.

As conference director, Richard van der Laken told Domus “the conference is also a vehicle — we want to tell a story about the relevance of design. For us it is very important to launch a call to action to designers themselves: what is your relevance as a designer, what do you bring to the table?”

The event runs from the 16 to 17 May and is located at the Stadsschouwburg Theatre, Amsterdam. -Babette Radclyffe-Thomas

Since 1976, A’maree’s of Newport Beach has been one of the West Coast’s leading destinations for a superb edit of women’s RTW. With their move to an airy harbor-front location, it’s worth a visit to this fashion institution now more than ever. Newport Beach is a quaint, affluent beach town roughly an hour’s drive from Los Angeles, with a pedestrian-friendly main street that’s filled with upscale boutiques and charming eateries. But A’maree’s is not your typical beach store: it’s stocked with up-to-the-minute finds from Balenciaga, Lanvin, Chloe, Dries Van Noten, all artfully merchandised in a sun-drenched, minimalist space straight out of the NYC or Paris retail scene. It’s also family owned and operated, by Nancy Brown and her two daughters, Dawn and Denise. So if you’re in L.A. and looking for a seaside day trip, head to Newport Beach and the amazing A’maree’s. — Ashley Churchill

A’maree’s

2241 West Coast Highway, Newport Beach, CA

1 949 642 4423

Photos Courtesy of A’maree’s and the L.A. Times

Following the departure of Christopher Kane in November last year, Donatella Versace was challenged with the task of finding a new protégé to take the reigns of Versace‘s punked-up younger brother, Versus. In a new move to reposition the brand, Donatello and the Versace brand have restructured the label opting for a series of designer collaborations that will contribute a core collection designed by the wider Versace team.

Jonathan Anderson, also known as JW Anderson, has been selected to create the first capsule collection for Versus, the first in a series of designer collaborations that will work towards the repositioning of the brand. Known for his daring and provoking collections (see: last season’s menswear show), his debut collection is just as statement making. Consisting of 31 looks, the line encapsulates the subversive androgyny of the JW Anderson mainline.

Anderson’s penchant for the ’90s translated powerfully into the collection, with the designer nodding to the classic Versus denim looks from the era. This included iconic gold Baroque lion head belt repeats and hypnotic fractal prints in monochrome and electric blue on matching jean and jacket sets. A healthy dose of glossy PVC’s and zebra patterns reinforced the unisex notion. The designer told WWD, “Unisex is the most modern thing that a lot of people do not touch on. The whole collection has to feel jarred. I think there’s a sharpness of the bridging of the [male and female]. When something is ugly and wrong, I feel that it’s right. You’re not used to it.”

As expected, the launch event in New York’s Lexington Avenue Amory included a celebrity packed guest list with Chloe Noorgaard, Harley Viera Newton, Mena Suvari, Heidi Klum and Paloma Faith — complete with performances by Angel Haze, Grimes and Dead Sara.

The collection is available online only at versusversace.com with prices from £140. Read more on the night over at Vogue where they have a full review with full runway images and red carpet images from the night.

To celebrate her daughter Emma’s fifth birthday, photographer Jaime C. Moore searched for an original portrait idea, one that went beyond a princess theme. She decided to photograph Emma as women she hopes her daughter will one day be inspired by and recreated iconic portraits of Susan B. Anthony, Coco Chanel, Amelia Earhart, Helen Keller and Jane Goodall. Love the concept? Make sure to check out our post on Bill Gekas who recreated the work of the old masters with his daughter.