We shared the news in this week’s Monday Roundup that Levi’s has just launched some new fits, including a line for women, of their Commuter brand jeans. The jeans are designed for bike transportation with high-rise waists, skinny legs and slightly reflective seams.
And befitting a clothing line that’s built for everyday riding, the video they launched today bursts through a dozen dull stereotypes about both biking and about marketing women’s bike products.
Since our friend Jessica Roberts of Alta Planning + Design shared the video on Twitter, we’ve seen some warm reviews from Portlanders we respect:
@jessicaroberts is this an advertisement for Men or Women? I couldn't tell.
— showerspass (@showerspass) March 11, 2015
@andersem @jessicaroberts I liked the lack of sexualization & only saw 1 helmet. Looks like a good change in the conversation.
— Kath Youell (@KYouell) March 11, 2015
@jessicaroberts We liked it. Tastefully done. Less Cycle Chic (R), more rad and women of color.
— ThePathLessPedaled (@pathlesspedaled) March 11, 2015
Advertisement
And a couple interesting thoughts from a prominent Los Angeles bike shop:
@jessicaroberts That ad will do more for cycling than all the PSA's in all the MPO's in the US this year.
— Flying Pigeon LA (@flyingpigeonla) March 11, 2015
@jessicaroberts Their market research for jeans shows what bike industry knows: growth in new riders are mixed ethnicity women.
— Flying Pigeon LA (@flyingpigeonla) March 11, 2015
“At first I was a little turned off by how fast & young it skewed – didn’t feel like it was for me,” adds Roberts, 39. “But then I realized that’s what fashion does. From that perspective, it’s probably quite effective in setting up urban biking as a cultural aspiration/norm.”
To me (who is, admittedly, a white dude who already wears jeans on almost every bike trip) there’s a lot to like here. From my perspective, the ad’s celebration of little moments is stylish but not formal, practical but not pedantic, attractive but not sexual, familiar but not boring.
There are lots of different kinds of bikes. One of them is on a freaking bus rack.
There’s even rain.
What do you think?