If you haven’t been keeping up with the latest Levi’s promos, just know that their marketing is still focused on providing low income and controversial areas the best DIY skate parks there are. This season, they’ve taken their team to Detroit, Michigan to team up with Community Push, a grassroots group in Detroit dedicated to building DIY skate parks. As some of us readers may know, Detroit faced huge economical turbulence when the city declared for bankruptcy in 2013. Buildings around the city have been abandoned, halfway taken down, and almost 40 percent of the city’s street lighting system was not working. Yet, four years later, it is undeniable that the city has been picking itself up together to get back on track, and the ones behind this momentum is none other than the local community itself.

Take a minute to think about it. The city’s infrastructure is disheveled, open spaces are abandoned and the local government has urgent economical problems to focus their funding and attention towards…none’s got time to worry about what and where skaters are meddling around. This is the perfect breeding ground for skaters to start building DIY spots. It’s no wonder Community Push has arisen and found an opportunity to make something out of nothing. With Levi’s support, Detroit now has a few more iconic DIY spots added to the city’s revitalized landscape to keep the local skate momentum going strong.

With regards to this season’s product line, Levi’s Skateboarding drew inspiration from the functional work outfits from San Francisco’s dockworkers during World War II. This season features a new Coach Jackets, Long Sleeve Tees, faded pocket tees, Riveter Shirts, and our favorite, the Levi’s Skateboarding Vest. The staple work pants are still in season, along with new denim finishes in the Slim Fit 511, Slim Fit 513, and 504 Regular Straight fit, all of which are updated with the Lycra T400 fabric for stretch, and Cordura fabric for strength.

On the other side of the world, Levi’s Skateboarding in China has started an interesting project with the local skate community as well. They have started working with two Chinese skate photographers Terry Xie, from Nanjing, and Eric Lai, from Shenzhen, to showcase locals ripping around their neighborhood. It’s no secret that China is the host to some of the most perfect marble ledges, skate plazas and hubbas; in the recent few years you may have seen some of the best pros travel there to film for Pretty Sweet, the Plan B video, and adidas’ Away Days. However, it’s not often you can see a local Chinese skater documented in his home environment, and the random things they encounter during the day just looking for spots. Terry Xie, who has been shooting professional skate photos for over 15 years, documented Shanghai-based skater Jay Meador (from Something Sinister) on the hunt for new terrain between modern skylines and traditional Shanghai lanehouses.

Eric Lai, heavily involved in the local Chinese skate scene, teamed up with a local skater as well to find new spots in Shenzhen, a city known for it’s modern architecture, endless marble plazas and bayside harbors. Check out some of their pictures below to get a taste of China’s skate landscape.

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It’s no question that these documentaries on developing youth communities seem to stray away from skateboarding jeans, but Levi’s has find the right way to tie their product in with their marketing with their Strong Made Stronger slogan.

Shoes and hardware are the most important pieces of equipment for skateboarding. However, the importance of jeans and chino pants are often forgotten for they attribute a huge influence to skateboarding as well. Some skaters prefer tighter jeans to have a full visible field of the deck, while others prefer pants that are wider for maximum flexibility. Everyone has personal preferences but durable jeans and comfortable chino pants have been the staples of skateboarding fashion for over two decades.

Realizing this, it was a no-brainer for Levi’s to branch into the skateboarding scene and build a line of jeans specifically adapted for skateboarding. Thus, they took classical styles like the 513 or 511 and reinforced/redesigned them for skateboarding with a special focus on durability and comfort. Levis heavily incorporated two fabrics into their skateboarding collection. The first one of which is called Cordura, which successfully mimics the feeling of a classic jean fabric but has better abrasion resistance characteristics. The second one is called Lycra. This fabric offers more flexibility while retaining its strength and also has better breathability.

Check out the feature and support your local skatehsop like ARROW&BEAST and get some Levis Skateboarding stuff.

Crew Neck Sweatshirt

2 Pack T-Shirt

L/S Football Shirt

511 Pant

Lookbook

2 Pack T-Shirt, Reform Shirt, 511

2 Pack T-Shirt

Crew Neck Sweatshirt, 513

L/S Football Shirt, 511

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But in this past year, they have focused on the developing communities within America, more notably, West Oakland, California and Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Oakland itself is a city known for it’s political and social unrest (with the past Oscar Grant shootings), gang violence, and high crime and murder rate. Art teacher Keith Williams has taken it upon himself to provide a haven for the youth to remove their focus away from the negativity, and instead foster their creative energy in a run-down DIY skatepark located in West Oakland. Only fifteen minutes away from Oakland, San Francisco based Levi’s directed it’s community efforts in renovating the West Oakland Defremery Skatepark, and inviting Marius Syvanen, Al Partanen and Pat Moran to shred with the kids.

A similar campaign was currently launched as well, where Levi’s once again put their community efforts into building a skatepark for the youth in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. The Native American youth here all live on the Pine Ridge reservation and face a lot of hardships dealing with suicide, hopelessness and drug abuse. However, Levi’s teamed up with the Walt Pourier, founder of the Stronghold Society, and built another skatepark in the neighboring community of Manderson for the youth of Pine Ridge to find skateboarding as an activity that drives focus towards positivity.

It’s no question that these two documentaries on developing youth communities seem to stray away from skateboarding jeans, but Levi’s has find the right way to tie their product in with their marketing with their Strong Made Stronger slogan. Let’s check out the story behind the new Fall 2015 collection and if it’s well-adapted for skateboarding.

Shoes and hardware are the most important pieces of equipment for skateboarding. However, the importance of jeans and chino pants are often forgotten for they attribute a huge influence to skateboarding as well. Some skaters prefer tighter jeans to have a full visible field of the deck, while others prefer pants that are wider for maximum flexibility. Everyone has personal preferences but durable jeans and comfortable chino pants have been the staples of skateboarding fashion for over two decades.

Thus, before there were skateboarding clothing brands, Levis jeans were the undeniable choice for skaters. Their styles were relevant to skateboarding culture and the jeans proved to be extremely durable and would remain intact despite the wear and tear from skating.

Realizing this, it was a no-brainer for Levi’s to branch into the skateboarding scene and build a line of jeans specifically adapted for skateboarding. Thus, they took classical styles like the 513 or 511 and reinforced/redesigned them for skateboarding with a special focus on durability and comfort. Levis heavily incorporated two fabrics into their skateboarding collection. The first one of which is called Cordura, which successfully mimics the feeling of a classic jean fabric but has better abrasion resistance characteristics. The second one is called Lycra. This fabric offers more flexibility while retaining its strength and also has better breathability.

Compared to regular Levis pants, the skateboard collection jeans have extra stitches to reinforce the most stressed area, which is usually between the legs. To make the jeans even more durable, they double layered the back pockets and as a result, there is no back pocket inside. This feature increases the durability because as soon as one layer of the back pocket has a hole, there is another layer that can sustain additional wear and tear. As a little hidden gem, Levis also included a stash pocket in every pair of pants.

Photos credits: Theo Paul

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Check out the Levis Skateboarding Collection at ARROW&BEAST

ARROW&BEAST Levis Skateboarding Collection

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High Quality PDF file: Gravis Dylan Slip On review

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Yes, I’ll switch brands: The next review project will be about an Adidas Skateboarding shoe. They are on its way right now, I’ll post pics when they arrive so you know what subject you can expect next to be reviewed on weartested.

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