A treasure trove of gay denim has found its way to Kings Cross, where a concise but compelling exhibition touches on Levi’s history within the queer community. Last week, during the opening party at Queer Britain, the UK’s first and only LGBTQ+ museum, the mood was celebratory. A new gallery wing was unveiled, and important pieces from the Levi’s archive had been decanted into the intimate setting.
Every guest — including Heartstopper’s Bel Priestley and presenter Miss Jason — was clad head-to-toe in denim, and yet no one appeared to be matching. This much was an ode in itself to the exhibition’s inten: to prove a knocked-up pair of 501’s remain a canvas for self-expression.
Open until October 13, From the Levis Archive: Icons in Denim — a Queer Perspective, has on show a handful of significant garments; among them a jacket designed for (and signed by) Sir Elton John; the jeans and t-shirt worn by Jake Gyllenhall in the 2005, Oscar winning film, Brokeback Mountain; and a pair owned by Queen’s frontman Freddie Mercury.
You could shrug off some fashion brand’s LGBTQ+ activations as pinkwashing, but Levi’s has occupied a specific significance amongst the community for decades. Tracey Panek, curator of the exhibition and a historian at Levi’s, explains this originated in San Francisco - the birthplace of the denim brand - in the 1950s, which had become something of a safe haven for the gay community. “And what were they wearing? The 501. Both gender-ambiguous and hyper-masculine, they were a quiet tool for rebellion. It wasn’t just clothing, but an important signifier.”
In 1977, San Francisco’s queer community was strong enough to elect California’s first openly gay public official, Harvey Milk. Tragically, Milk was shot for supporting a bill to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; his pair of 501’s are a poignant feature of this retrospective.
Also on display, and making an overt political statement, is the Levi’s Protest Jacket — a piece customised by American artist Serge Gay Jr amidst 2020’s Black Lives Matter movement. The patchwork trucker jacket, titled ‘Black Movement’, holds recognisable symbols from the Civil Rights and BLM movements, as well as Serge Gay’s own motifs expressing his concerns and proud identity being a Black gay transgender man.
Joseph Galliano-Doig, co-founder of Queer Britain, expresses his gratitude to Levi’s who have been a key sponsor of the musueum that first opened in May 2022. “I was running around campaigning with a piece of paper when they said ‘we want to see this happen, they’ve stayed true allies our whole time,” he says. More help is needed, however.
“We currently have a multi-year lease at our Granary Square location and are seeing it as our meanwhile home,” Galliano-Doig says. “We have the aim of continuing to grow and eventually moving to a forever home.” There is no doubt, with a more space, this would be a great asset to London.
