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Levi’s New Elevated Collection Plays Like a Remastered Greatest Hits Album

Blue Tab is back with its second collection for Fall 2025.

Dark blue denim fabric with yellow stitching, featuring a back pocket and a tan leather patch label. The label reads "LEVI STRAUSS & CO," "GENUINE QUALITY CLOTHING," "MADE IN JAPAN," and includes the iconic Levi's two-horse logo.Levi’s
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By Brad Lanphear

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For the past few decades, Levi’s has been dealing with a problem the king of American jeans created for itself.

The San Francisco denim slinger made jeans so well throughout the twentieth century that it is continuously measured against a standard it has struggled to maintain in a modern, globalized fashion economy.

Dark blue denim jacket with a classic collar, silver buttons, and two chest pockets with button flaps. The inside label reads "Levi Strauss & Co." and indicates the jacket is made in Japan, size M.
Levi’s Blue Tab is a regular production line that lives up to the brand’s twentieth-century standard.
Levi’s

Levi’s jeans and denim jackets produced from the 1970s through the early 1990s have long been a hot commodity on the vintage market, and examples produced earlier than that have sold for exorbitant prices.

Limited edition one-offs and short-lived sub-brands have met or surpassed that vintage standard. However, the brand has struggled to maintain a continuous collection of core pieces that match the coveted quality of generations past.

Close-up of a person wearing a vertically striped button-up shirt in light blue and white, partially tucked into blue denim jeans. The shirt has a small embroidered "LS&Co." logo on the chest and a black fabric tag near the bottom hem that reads "LEVI STRAUSS & CO." The person's hand is tucked into the front pocket of the jeans.
The Blue Tab Work Shirt has a subtle embroidery on the chest.
Levi’s

That is, until the Blue Tab collection was launched in April 2025. The elevated assortment utilizes Japanese denim, and in a few cases, Japanese craftsmanship, to reproduce the denim made in America until the 1990s.

One-of-a-kind denim

Levi’s worked with the renowned Japanese mill Kaihara to create proprietary denim exclusively for the Blue Tab collection. This denim has been used to revamp some of the brand’s most adored creations, like 501 and 502 jeans and Type I and Type III jackets.

Light blue denim jeans with a slim fit design, featuring a distressed patch with a small hole on the left knee area. The jeans have a classic five-pocket style with visible stitching and a button closure at the waist. The fabric shows subtle fading and whiskering for a worn-in look.
The Blue Tab 505 Selvedge Jeans are perfectly distressed.
Levi’s

The Fall 2025 collection, released in late August, also includes novel creations, such as a selvedge denim chore blazer, a full denim fishtail parka and hand-distressed jeans. It is rounded out with staples like blank t-shirts, classic work shirts and a Harrington jacket.

Dark blue denim jacket with a notched collar, three front buttons, and two large patch pockets at the lower front. The jacket has long sleeves and visible stitching details.
The Blue Tab Chore Blazer is a highlight of the Fall 2025 collection.
Levi’s

Levi’s has just released the second Blue Tab seasonal collection, but it already feels like an instant classic — like the defunct Silver Tab and Orange Tab collections — that gives vintage fans and denim enthusiasts exactly what they have been looking for the past twenty years.

The Blue Tab Fall 2025 Collection

The Blue Tab Fall 2025 collection contains just over two dozen items but is filled wall-to-wall with hits. That succinctness is one of Blue Tab’s greatest attributes.

A man wearing a light blue denim jacket with a front pocket and matching light blue denim jeans, seated on a tall black stool. He is also wearing black ankle boots. The background is plain and light gray.
The Levi’s Type I jacket is the grandaddy of all denim jackets.
Levi’s

Here are six of the collection’s top items, which would be an asset to any man’s wardrobe.

Pro Tip: The initial Blue Tab drop from April 2025 sold out quickly, so you should move on these pieces while you can.

Perfect 501s

They’ve accumulated many accolades over the years, none truer than the “best-fitting jeans of all time.” Indeed, no pair of jeans ever devised has looked better on more people than Levi’s 501s.

Truth be told, you can’t go wrong with the $80, standard-issue shrink-to-fit model. But if you have the extra scratch, this Japanese milled and crafted iteration is top shelf.

Often imitated, never duplicated

Levi’s invented the Type III jacket in 1967, and it might be the most imitated jacket in history. That’s not surprising, considering it looks good on absolutely everyone, regardless of physique, gender, occasion or personal style.

This deep indigo take is made in Japan from Levi’s proprietary denim developed with Kaihara. It will develop a gorgeous patina that will improve with each year of tough wear.

An elevated chore coat

We may have passed peak chore coat, but the overplayed workwear staple still has a role when executed properly. For example, make one with a blazer collar using rich, indigo-dyed selvedge denim.

If necessary, this beauty can be worn as a casual blazer, a lightweight jacket and a tough-as-nails work jacket all in one day.

A gentleman’s work shirt

I’m a diehard Oxford shirt fan, but this elevated work shirt could beat up any button-down in my closet.

The hickory stripe fabric, made iconic by American railroad workers, can pass as a dress shirt and looks great with a leather jacket and jeans.

Classic jeans, updated

The 502 is essentially the 501 with a slightly sharper taper from the knee down, resulting in a tighter leg opening. It looks better with a low-top sneaker than the 501 and is more flattering for guys with slim legs.

Denim purists may balk at this, but Levi’s added 2% stretch to this Japanese-crafted jean. This is an example of how the Blue Tab collection has something for everyone.

The grandaddy of all denim jackets

Levi’s Type III jacket may be infinitely more famous, but there is something to be said for the jacket that started it all. You can trace every jean jacket in existence today back to this simple piece of workwear.

Although the single chest pocket is not the most functional option, the boxy fit, pleated chest and rivet buttons are as stylish as ever.

About the Author: Brad Lanphear is an associate editor at Gear Patrol covering watches and style. Before joining the publication, he previously wrote for Heddels and Men’s Health. Now, he’s on a never-ending quest to find the perfect pair of Japanese denim.

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