Photo: Levi’s
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter may not be acknowledged by country fans, but the album is still making its cultural mark. “You call me pretty little thing and I love to turn him on, boy, I’ll let you be my Levi Jeans, so you can hug that ass all day long,” Beyoncé sang on the album’s “LEVII’S JEANS” song featuring Post Malone. Was it all actually an ad? Possibly. Either way, Levi’s immediately joined the Beyhive, changing its Instagram profile photo to Levii’s with two i’s like in the song’s title. That was six months ago; now, Beyoncé is in a Levi’s ad.
In a new campaign video, “Launderette,” the first of a series directed by Beyoncé’s longtime friend and filmmaker Melina Matsoukas. Beyoncé struts into the laundromat, wearing Levi’s that perfectly fit her hips, a white T-shirt, and a denim Levi’s cowboy hat. Before throwing a bucket of diamonds into the washing machine to wash her denim, she slowly slips the Levi’s down her hips, revealing boy shorts. Laundromat bystanders can’t help but stare. The original “Launderette” campaign was a 1980s advertisement featuring the late singer Nick Kamen.
“I am honored to work with Levi’s® to create quintessential American iconography. Denim on denim has often been seen through a male lens, so this reimagining campaign, which celebrates the iconic female perspective, is important to me,” Beyoncé said in a press release.
Denim has always been a huge part of country culture, the resistant fabric acting as a shield for cowboys and farmers. Levi’s have been the classic and go-to denim brand for over 100 years. “My song ‘LEVII’S JEANS’ celebrates what I believe is the ultimate Americana uniform — something we all wear with pride,” Beyoncé added in the press release.
Photo: Levi’s
This global campaign is just getting started. Hopefully, the denim cowboy hat is coming, but Beyoncé’s 501 ’90s jeans and essential sport T-shirt from the campaign video are available now.
We can’t promise the 501’s will fit the same as Beyoncé. “I ain’t never ever seen some Levi’s fit like that. The waist don’t even have a gap,” media personality Scottie Beam said on X. While Levi’s jeans are beloved, the 501’s have notoriously not been the best-fitting denim from the brand, especially for curves, which Beyoncé has a lot of. “If you don’t jump to put jeans on, baby, you don’t feel my pain,” she said in 2020 in Megan thee Stallion’s Savage remix. We want the denim, but Beyoncé, can we have your tailor, too?
Photo: Levi’s
