In 1873 Levi Strauss invented the first blue jeans using rivets to secure clothing at the “points of strain”.

The result: strong jeans that could stand up to the hard work thrown at them by hard-working individuals of the time.

 

With the patent expiring in 1890, Levi Strauss & Co. needed a symbol to ensure consumers understood how good – and strong – the company’s jeans were. The answer came in the image of two horses – each pulling in the opposite direction on the same pair of jeans, trying in vain to tear them apart.

With this image to guide them, customers could walk into their local general store and ask for “those pants with the two horses,”

and they would get a pair of Levi’s® jeans.