While in Tokyo to preview the new Blue Tab collection from Levi’s, BAZAAR talks exclusively to the brand’s design director Paul O’Neill about inspiration, craftsmanship, and scouring Tokyo’s vintage stores.

All images courtesy of Levi’s.

 

Concept & Inspiration

What started the talk for this Blue Tab line? 

So we’ve had the Made In Japan collection for the last few seasons. And looking at that, we really wanted to focus on premium, trying to add more product categories into the Made in Japan line. We wanted to introduce outerwear, shirts, and t-shirts because Made In Japan was mainly focused on five-pocket jeans and trucker jackets.

So with that thirst to add in all of these extra different categories, we wanted to think about this as more of a collection instead of a group of products. We wanted it all to have the same aesthetic. We found a beautiful old document from the Levi’s archive from the 1920s that had this gorgeous typography on it. So we took that and used it for our branding and built everything around that colour that we had on the Blue Tab. 

 

We wanted to make a bigger collection. Not only everything that happened to be focused on Made In Japan, but also introducing all these other product categories. We wanted to keep it a bit more open and give the collection a new name, which was Blue Tab. 

When did this discussion start? 

Oh, the discussion started maybe one and a half years ago. That’s the first time it started coming into my zone. 

Share with us the design philosophy behind this new collection. What is the inspiration? 

The inspiration is looking at utility wear, looking at Americana. Looking really at the Levi’s archive because there are all these beautiful, practical garments— looking at how we can take influence from this military jacket or this fishtail parka—then creating this really rich fabric that we’re working with denim mills here in Japan. We can combine that modern beautiful fabric with this classic practical garment. Then create something that not only is inspired by the past but also something that can feel more “luxury”. Something that feels more elevated, and brings all of these shades of blue together, which I feel is important.

 

Heritage, Renewed

Are there pieces with completely new silhouettes? Or is everything within the heritage space? 

There’s definitely a lot of pieces that are new silhouettes. If we look at some of the women’s pieces, you’ll see that we’ve got this beautiful cocoon-like shape. Of course, I can’t say it’s completely not inspired by our history, but it’s a very refined approach to our history. 

We’ve never done anything like this [points to the Type I-inspired Trucker Jacket]. To keep to our DNA, we look at a beautiful Levi’s jacket but now it’s got no waistband, and no cuffs. It’s got beautiful shaping and detailing in it. So you can see that it has a Levi’s DNA, but it really feels modern and fresh. 

 

And then looking at pieces like this jacket that I’m wearing today. Levi’s traditionally never made, you know, formal wear. But then you start to think about Levi’s making the chore coats and the sack coats. And what I like about this is it’s unstructured—it doesn’t have the shoulder pads. It can be worn in a formal way, but it still has a relaxed atmosphere, right? So it’s trying to bring that. 

Who do you envision wearing the Blue Tab collection? 

I think it’s somebody who cares about quality, who wants to buy something that’s a quality product that’s going to last for a long time. They’re not interested in new things all of the time. It’s somebody that should have the finances to be able to support that, so a professional person. For me, it’s someone 25 and older. Someone who appreciates the nicer things and can see the small details. I think I can see people who appreciate art, good music and literature to also appreciate things like this. 

 

Usually when we buy the normal Levi’s collection, we take it for granted. Because we were just saying that it was only after visiting the factory yesterday that we realised how much work is put into just a pair of jeans. 

It’s crazy, right? Yeah, it’s amazing. 

The attention to craftsmanship…people who really appreciate that will really love this collection.

Exactly. And I wish I could bring a lot more people to the factories to show them because there’s always people who question prices on products. But when you really understand the level of work and detail that goes into it, especially with some of these elevated products…there’s so much involved in creating these products. And the value is just understanding that.

Describe the Blue Tab collection in three words. 

Oh. Sophisticated, elevated…and iconic. Because it’s Levi’s. 

 

A Love For Vintage

I understand that you’re a fan of vintage clothes and records, and Japan is one of the best places to hunt for these things… 

It is.

…so will you be on the hunt on this trip? What do you usually look out for? 

So, yes, I have already been on the hunt on this trip because I arrived here a little bit early. I had some time to go to my usual vintage stores to look for clothing. I go to Koenji, which is a great area. Koenji has a huge amount of vintage stores in a very small area. As well as the Harajuku area where you have Berberjin and Fakeα. So I’ve got my usual places but I’m always surprised that there’s new things popping up in these areas that I find all the time. I love to come to Japan and just get lost in the stores.

 

Do you normally look for something specific or do you just explore? 

Just explore. Sometimes I’ll come up with an idea, (say) I want to try to find a non-structured jacket to reference for my project. But most of the time, the best things I find, I didn’t know I needed. Like you mentioned, I collect records and there’s two ways to collect and buy records. You can sit on your computer and type in what you’re looking for and that’s what you’ll find. But if you go out to the store, you go in to look for one thing but you’ll come out with something different. And I think that’s what I love about vintage shopping—that element of surprise. It’s the discovery of something you didn’t know was there.

 

Do you have a song or record in mind that best reflects the Blue Tab collection? 

I do actually, because I was thinking about this this morning. I live close to San Francisco and there’s a local band there that I really like at the moment called April Magazine. They have a song called “If The Ceiling Were A Kite” and I really love this song. It kind of reminds me of this (collection) because when I listen to it, it’s based on music from the ’60s so it’s grounded in some classic kind of sounds but it’s also taking it into the future—it’s got something beautiful that’s classic but also something really modern that brings it right up into today. I think that’s kind of what we’re trying to do here. 

 

The Future Of Blue Tab

Will you ever consider joining Fashion Week with this line? 

I think it’s definitely possible to consider. You know, we had a beautiful fashion show this morning. It was a lot of fun to see the products on the catwalk. I think as we progress through the collection, yeah, that’s definitely something that could be considered for sure.

Apart from this event, what will the roll-out be for Blue Tab this year? 

Well, there’s going to be really exciting launches happening in Europe, and the US. Then we’re going to drop the Fall collection, which is going to come soon. There’s going to be a lot of fun stuff happening around the Blue Tab collection as we see the products hit the stores, so yeah, we’re excited about that. 

I’m quite excited to see your vision for Autumn/Winter, with denim. 

Yeah, we’re going to have some beautiful quilted denim jackets, based on naval jackets. It’s going to be a fun collection.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Read more on Paul O’Neill and the Levi’s Blue Tab collection here.
The Levi’s Blue Tab collection launches globally on 17 February 2025. The collection will be available at Levi’s Suria KLCC, PAVILION Elite, TRX The Exchange, THE GARDENS Mall, and at LEVI.COM.MY.