The Levi’s brand has been supporting the LGBTQIA+ community over the decades. For Pride 2023, it is celebrating the community’s strength, history and creativity. Drawing from a thoughtful mix of inspirational and educational storytelling told by the Pride 2023 cast, LGBTQIA+ community members and allies are encouraged to fully express themselves and to help others do the same with a campaign that asks, “How do you show up?”
The Levi’s Pride 2023 collection recognizes and highlights self-expression. The lavender-hued color palette salutes LGBTQIA+ activist groups of the 1970s and 1990s whose energy brought an explosive fearlessness to the gay rights movement and mirrors the cultural push forward by queer and trans youth today. The collection includes the 501 ‘93 Straight Jeans, the Pride Muscle Tank, the Liberation Trucker Vest and Pride Bucket Hat in deep purple.
A global cast of LGBTQIA+ community members was documented on what it means for self-expression to serve a greater purpose. Prior to this collection, Levi’s and 501 jeans have been worn for decades as symbols of protests, solidarity and self-expression. During the advent of biker culture and the arrival of fresh faces in Hollywood in the 1950s, 501 jeans embodied the embrace of hypermasculinity. With a first fit and versatility that blurred traditional lines between genders, 501 jeans themselves became a symbol of rebellion.
“The Levi’s Pride 2023 campaign is a global celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community and its powerful history of genuine self-expression,” said Lance Relicke, vice president of Global Brand Experience at Levi Strauss & Co. “From clubs to protests to Pride parades, wherever people gather in the name of love and inclusivity, so many of them will proudly show up in their Levi’s and 501 jeans. There’s so much genuine love for the Levi’s® brand in the LGBTQIA+ community and we’re thrilled to reciprocate that love — all of the time, but especially during Pride 2023.”
As an extension of its support for the LGBTQIA+ community, Levi’s is also making an annual $100,000 donation to Outright International, a global organization working to advance human rights for LGBTQIA+ people all over the world. For the Philippines, Levi’s has partnered with PANTAY, a youth-led lobbying community advocating for gender-transformative legislation in the Philippine congress. They also joined the Pride PH Festival on 24 June, bringing its first Pride Bus, which aims to create a safe space for authentic and creative self-expression through various activities, such as DIY placard painting, shirt printing and tailor shop customization services. Drag queens Eva Le Queen and Marina Summers were at the Levi’s Pride Bus for a meet-and-greet.
The Levi’s Pride 2023 collection is available for purchase on Levi.com.ph and in selected Levi’s Stores nationwide.