Meeting Lynn Downey In the Levi’s Archives: What to Ask Her?

levis 640x791 Meeting Lynn Downey In the Levis Archives: What to Ask Her?Yesterday, my good friend and fellow Levi’s-lover, Nils Schéle sent me an e-mail that is a little out of the extraordinary compared all the daily junk, and it sent me off to other place for a few minutes. The message was loud and clear:

“Dear Thomas,
I’m pleased to inform you that Lynn Downey has agreed to meet you in the Archives … “

Of course the e-mail didn’t come out of the blue or because Lynn had requested to meet me (at least it doesn’t state anything like that), but it was ever so satisfying and I’ll have to admit I’m little honoured. Lynn Downey is to the history of Levi’s what milk is to cookies, you can’t have one without the other. Joking aside, Lynn’s research and impressive work for over two decades at Levi’s has paved the way to Levi’s Vintage Clothing and our understanding of the brand. We owe her so much! Maybe you don’t know much about Lynn (yet you probably do), but to help you understand the importance this opportunity has to me, think of it as meeting your all-time favourite rockstar, actor, the Queen or whoever you idolise.

The meeting is going to take place in the beginning of June when I’m in San Francisco on my honeymoon. Now, you would think that doing ‘business’ on your honeymoon would require some serious persuasion of my soon-to-be wife, but I really am a lucky guy, her response was just, “of course we should meet Lynn when we’re there”. If I wasn’t sure before I most certainly am now; I’ve found the girl of my dreams!

Anyway, rule number one in any book on journalism probably says something in the lines of “be prepared”. With a little over two months to prepare I plan to ask the sharpest questions that she has ever been asked. I already have a few in mind, but why not make use of all you guys out there to think of what to ask? This is what this post is all about; bring me your questions (just write them as comments below) and I might ask your question to Lynn.

Here’s a few interviews with Lynn, it might be a good place to start the research about what to ask – you don’t want to ask her something that he has already answered somewhere else.

Asked and Answered, Part I and Part II (A Continuous Lean)
San Francisco: Levi’s Archives and Lynn Downey (Stylesight)
Blue Jean Baby (Cowboys and Indians)

You’ll possibly be able to find other interviews elsewhere and if you do, please share them. Also a good place to start is at Lynn’s own website and her bibliography.

To get give you a better understanding of what Lynn means to some of the Japanese Levi’s fans have a look at the video below.

Photography: The Bold Italic.

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Thomas Bojer

Founder and editor-in-chief at Denimhunters
Thomas got into denim through a keen interest in manufacturing and a love for the well-faded jean. He's based in Copenhagen, Denmark, but he travels as much as his job allows. Through Denimhunters he has found a way to share his passion with likeminded enthusiasts while learning more about the blue fabric. Thomas' favourite jean is the 1947 501XX and he has a soft spot for Red Wing Shoes.
734019 10152300210237195 839581040 n 2 Meeting Lynn Downey In the Levis Archives: What to Ask Her?
Published on 15 March 2013 1 Comment
  • Thomas

    So what I would find very interesting is how close she works with the designers of LVC, how often she has stopped them last minute because some details were off. Furthermore, of she looks at today’s output of the company (especially the denim range), how can she be not frustrated?

    Sure, there are attempts to go back to more classic denim alternatives from Cone and made in the US, but in my view, the standard modern 501 isn’t that great and LVC doesn’t even show up as a link on the LeVI’S website.

    A few more ideas: What does she imagine, will come to light in the next 10 years. The early vintage boom must have been a very interesting time for the Levi’s archives, how is this gonna change? Does she see a future for LVC/Cone and Levi’s XX (businesswise). I mean sometimes a big corporation like Levi’s can be run by people who do not have a background that related to their product. People saw Levi’s close Valencia Street, for example. (which really seems like a bad joke looking at how things went with the CEO, iirc.) How does she feel about that? Maybe I am just too big of a fan of the old Levi’s, but as Donadi in one of his interviews said, one cannot really imagine “vintage” without Levi’s.

    As you see, I am quite interested in the future of her work, how it might evolve, if it (hopefully!) gets more important to really have an archive in a time when everything seems to have been done twice.

    Thanks!