LEVI’S AND EAST LONDON’S 194 LOCAL GET SILVERTAB BAGGY FOR FALL/WINTER 2022

by John Russel Jones

As looser, more voluminous, silhouettes reenter the fashion scene, Levi’s SilverTab Loose Fit Jeans, first popularized in the 1990s in the worlds of skate and hip-hop are having a resurgence. In East London, the popular shop 194 Local has turned repurposed SilverTab jeans into one of its top-selling items.

Founded in 2018 by Elliot Cook, 194 Local is an East End label that specializes in vintage menswear and designer clothing from the mid- ’80s through the late 2000s, with a special focus on designers and brands from the U.S., Europe, and Japan. One of the store’s favorites are vintage Levi’s SilverTab. “We just really like baggy jeans,” says Cook. “And SilverTab was the best-fitting jean we found. All we carry in denim is vintage SilverTab.”

For their new collaboration with Levi’s, 194 Local relied on new Levi’s SilverTab Loose Fit Jeans rather than vintage, but the effect is still all about the baggy. Each jean in the collection is overdyed in one of four colors—lavender, mustard yellow, rust red, and chocolate brown. The colors are all based on things they liked and had in their shop from the ‘90s—like a pair of Armani trousers, or a Fresh Jive tee. Each of the jeans also features “194” embroidered below the front left-hand pocket.

It’s all meant to capture the look and feel of what Cook sees as a golden era of design, an era in which Levi’s SilverTab played a huge role. “The ‘90s just had the best fit in baggy jeans,” says Cook. “From skate companies, to Japanese designers, to Levi’s, it was just the era that had the best design.”

Retailing at $108 and available in four washes, the Levi’s SilverTab & 194 Local exclusive capsule launches Friday, December 16th exclusively on the Levi’s App and at 194 Local LA.