It's a Bob Dylan Winter.
Timothée Chalamet’s depiction of iconic American musician Bob Dylan is the talk of the town at the moment, and heritage denim outfit Levi’s weren’t about to miss a beat in the midst of the film’s UK release.
Syncing up with the UK release of the film – titled A Complete Unknown (2025) – Levi’s Vintage Clothing are ironically treading back over some pretty well established historical territory, championing Bob Dylan’s love for Levi’s silhouettes through a re-release of some of his favourite garments. The James Mangold directed feature-length enlisted costume designer Arianne Phillips to curate Chalamet’s wardrobe throughout the hit biopic, being set amidst Dylan’s rise in the New York folk music scene in the early 1960s. Working alongside Phillips for the film, the Levi’s Vintage Clothing team is celebrating and honouring Dylan and his classic looks here, creating pieces specific to the likes and dislikes of the man himself. For instance, Paul O’Neill, Design Director of Levi’s Vintage Clothing, discovered several years ago that a memoir by Bob Dylan’s ex-girlfriend Suze Rotolo detailed how she added panelling into his jeans in the early 1960s in order to allow Dylan to wear the Levi’s denim over his boots. In signature Dylan style, he was ahead of the curve stylistically, as Levi’s only introduced the bootcut jean several years later.
The limited-edition collection is composed out of some famously-worn Bob Dylan entries, with Levi’s Vintage Clothing x A Complete Unknown collection boasting everything from the aforementioned Levi’s Vintage Clothing 1955 501 jeans with bootcut inserts and a Levi’s Vintage Clothing “D” Belt to the revered Levi’s Vintage Clothing Suede Jacket. Paying homage to a true American icon, each piece of the curated selection tells its own story, ranging from the prior mentioned bootcut inserts to Dylan’s trusty leather “D” buckle belt and the timeless suede jacket, as seen on the cover of what is one of his most adored albums – The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963). Channeling the romantic themes of the movie, the collection is presented in an awe-inspiring box emblazoned with Dylan’s lyrics, whilst the jeans and belt come with special tributes, including the sheet music for Dylan’s hit song “Girl from the North Country, a “New Friend” cue card from the legendary “Subterranean Homesick Blues” film, and hidden in the watch pocket of the jeans, a typed note that reads, “I’ll let you be in my dreams, if I can be in yours,” a famous early Dylan lyric. Lastly, the remade classic suede trucker jacket worn by Dylan in the early 1960s is put forward in a box that includes sheet music for “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” a “Dig Yourself” cue card, as well as a movie still featuring Timothée Chalamet wearing the slick jacket, jeans and belt trio. In the style of the 501 jeans, the jacket comes adorned with costume notes on the inside pocket calling out A Complete Unknown, whilst additionally noting the outfit change and scene the product is shot in.
In a statement about the collection, Arianne Phillips, Costume Designer for A Complete Unknown, stated:
“While researching costumes for the film, I kept noticing that Bob Dylan wore Levi’s consistently throughout his career, both on and off stage. So I worked with Paul O’Neill at Levi’s to help me source original Levi’s denim and produce the bootcut 501 jeans, as well as recreate the Super Slim Levi’s jeans that Dylan wore in ’65. We see the silhouette of Levi’s change in the film alongside Dylan’s own evolution, from the fuller leg 501 jeans that Dylan wore when he first got his start in the NYC West Village folk scene in ’61, to the Super Slim jeans Dylan wore when famously going electric in ’65. To my surprise and delight, I found that Dylan’s journey could be authentically traced through his Levi’s.”
The limited-edition Levi’s Vintage Clothing x A Complete Unknown collection will be available to purchase via the Levi’s website on January 17th, the same date the film releases in UK cinemas.
Check out imagery below.
PHOTO CREDIT: Levi’s Vintage Clothing
