Exhibition Review - Amped: Music Icons in Levi’s® Denim

Location: The Vault (Levi Strauss & Co. Museum), San Francisco, California

Exhibit Dates: November 5, 2025 to December 18, 2025

Visit the exhibition page here, https://www.levistrauss.com/2025/11/05/levis-vault-reopens/ 

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I was lucky to visit the Amped: Music Icons in Levi’s^® Denim exhibit at The Vault in San Francisco, California on one of its last days open. The exhibit showcased the costumes of iconic musicians as well as the collaborations between Levi Strauss & Co. and textile artists. The displays included outfits from Beyonce at the entrance, to Freddy Mercury, Pharrell Williams, Elton John, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Orville Peck, and Kurt Cobain. These clothing pieces are examples of creative partnerships between tailors at Levi and musical artists.

The focus of this review is on the denim outfits worn by Britney, Beyonce, and Pharrell; pop artists whose music I grew up listening to in Los Angeles.

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Britney’s deconstructed denim gown complimented with silver, dazzling jewelry is Hollywood glam. She wore the dress during the 2001 American Music Awards. Large, monochromatic denim panels create the princess-like dress, and the denim preserves its history. The imprint of old stitches are visible where threads were removed, as patterned dots on the denim. Existing flat seams were re-used, still holding the integrity of their shape as elegant bodice lines and taking the place of traditional piping. New stitches, as simple flat seams, were created using thick yellow thread for the dress’ dramatic long lines. The raw edges of existing flat seams and the unfinished hem at the bottom of the dress are a decorative contrast to the clean lines. The large panels on the dress skirt had sharp acute angles, though they were harmonious because of the light color of the denim.

This denim patchwork seemed familiar too, reminding me of when I first experimented with patchwork using my dad’s jeans used for construction. This denim patchwork is accessible if large pieces of denim with similar fabric weights and similar hand can be gathered.

Figure 1. Britney Spears  – Levi’s® denim gown, 2001. Image credit Nidia K. Trejo.

Beyonce’s outfit worn for the Denim Cowboy film, LEVIIS JEANS, radiates a dazzling and flamboyant energy. The denim was decorated with Swarovski crystal studs along the jacket and pants. The crystals were circular and tear drop-shaped. The lines of the flat seams on the trucker jacket, decorated with the small circular crystals, easily caught the light and added life to the outfit. The larger crystals created a unique 3-D effect on the straight-legged jeans. The crystal designs on Beyonce’s outfit look floral, following the shape of the crystals themselves (traditionally floral or nature motifs), instead of Western style motifs. Western elements of the outfit include the Western collar, the leather belt, motifs along the pockets, and along the pant leg, the borders of the motifs are simplified curved scrolls with sharp points for contrast.

 The Swarovski crystals are very popular among celebrities and the entertainment industry, though inaccessible to many, the sparkly-nature of the crystals inspires decorative-studs on clothing as part of Do-It-Yourself and upcycling movements.

Figure 2. Beyonce – Levi’s® 501® curve jeans and Levi’s® trucker jacket, 2025. Image credit Nidia K. Trejo.

Pharrell’s patchwork jeans were acquired from a raghouse in Amsterdam and worn for GQ's Men of the Year 2024 issue. Pharrell wore these jeans as a second-hand item. The diversity of the large patches (3 to 4 inch polygons) and the boteh motifs on the jeans gave a global feeling. On the back, an embroidered Volkswagon patch read “let’s boogie” and the anti-war patch paired with a purple flower. Many patches had the color blue, monochromatically matching the denim, as well as other harmonious colors, like oranges and reds, inspiring cohesion and unity. The hand work on the jeans was visible up close. Raw edges stuck out of some patches and alternative black and white threads were used in layering the patches on. Light-weight cotton patches, heavy upholstery patches made of corduroy and double-weave fabrics, and the embroidered patches all added a layered look. Though the pants appeared lightweight because of the volume in the flare of the bell bottoms.

The colorful patchwork seemed familiar and accessible, reminding me of the patchwork I used to do while I was a student at UC Davis. The style also felt comfortable in a place like the San Francisco Bay Area where clothing repair mending as a form of sustainability is highly promoted.

Pharrell’s “Freedom” song played loudly at the Amped exhibit (verse):

“Your first name is Free

Last name is Dom

We choose to believe

In where we're from”

Figure 3. Pharrell Williams – Levi’s® hippie-style bell-bottom jeans, 1970s. Image credit Nidia K. Trejo.

The costumes of iconic musicians serve are inspiration for the craft of hand stitching for mending, upcycling, and reuse of textiles. Personally, this exhibit inspired me to continue creating time and place to support the second life of textiles and clothing creatively through partnerships with the Richmond Art Center and the Reuse Alliance in Northern California.