Levi's, BEAMS and LOOPWHEELER Cut a Super Wide Trucker in Loopwheeled Fleece, Out October 17

Levi's and BEAMS are back for a fifth collaboration, by Levi's own count, and this time they brought in LOOPWHEELER, the Japanese sweatshirt maker named for the slow loopwheel knitting machines it uses. Levi's announced it on Instagram on October 12 as a six-piece capsule "inspired by vintage steel and the open road", with three dates: BEAMS Japan on October 17, a global launch on October 22 and BEAMS America on October 23.

BEAMS's own post, which says the line was made for the store's 50th anniversary, lists three items. The Super Wide Trucker takes the classic Type I jacket and makes it in LOOPWHEELER's loopwheeled fleece-back sweatshirt fabric, keeping the super-wide cut from the partners' earlier collaborations. It comes in Heather Gray and Navy, which BEAMS calls LOOPWHEELER's signature colours, with both brands' name tags on the cuff and front pocket.

The Super Wide Pant is made from the same fabric, with a back patch carrying all three names, a clip-on tag at the front pocket and the Levi's arcuate stitched across the back pockets in contrasting colour blocks. The Bandana uses a vintage Levi's pattern, in Red and Blue. BEAMS lists three items, with the trucker and bandana in two colours each; neither post spells out how Levi's gets to six pieces, and neither gives prices.

Image: BEAMS

Where and when

In Japan it goes on sale on Saturday, October 17, at three stores: BEAMS Harajuku, BEAMS Japan in Shinjuku and BEAMS Japan Kyoto. Anyone who buys the trucker and the pant together at one of those stores goes into a draw for a T-shirt in LOOPWHEELER's loopwheeled jersey with Levi's Saddleman graphic on the back, and buying both pieces in both colours earns two entries. BEAMS Harajuku also hosts a talk on the evening of Friday, October 16, with Leo Gamboa of Levi's, LOOPWHEELER's Satoshi Suzuki and two people from BEAMS; nothing is sold at the event.

Outside Japan, Levi's gives October 22 as the global launch and October 23 for BEAMS America.

Image: BEAMS

The read

The super-wide shape is the thread that runs through this partnership. Levi's own blog post on the BEAMS collaboration from January 2022 was built on super-wide versions of its classics, from jeans based on the 501 XX to a Type I trucker. Putting that same trucker into loopwheeled sweatshirt fabric is the new move: it keeps the outline of a denim jacket and swaps in something you'd actually wear around the house, which is why LOOPWHEELER is the third name on it rather than a footnote.

It's also the latest piece of BEAMS's 50th-anniversary run, after the Polo Ralph Lauren B-WING jacket. We'll add prices when BEAMS or Levi's lists them.

Image: BEAMS