Levi Strauss returns to stock market

The inventor of the quintessential American garment was German-born Levi Strauss, who moved to New York following the death of his father. Strauss later traveled to San Francisco on the US West Coast to capitalize on the gold rush. Here he made a fortune not by panning gold, but by inventing the blue jeans.

Levi Strauss was born in Buttenheim in the southern German state of Bavaria. His birth house, which is more than 300 years old, has been converted into a museum dedicated to the timeless piece of fashion.

It was one of Levi Strauss' customers, tailor Jacob Davis, who actually first put metal rivets in men's work pants to increase their durability. Davis shared his idea with Strauss and the two together obtained a US patent on the riveted pants in 1873. The blue denim jeans — then called waist overalls — became an instant hit among the gold miners.

The first pant was the original 501 jean. It was then simply called XX — an industry term for high quality. XX was also the name of the denim used to make the pant. More than a decade later the now-famous two-horse brand leather patch was used on the 501 jeans.

Original designed for gold miners, the blue jeans soon became a rage among people from all walks of life. The company registered "Levi's" as a trademark to protect it from becoming a generic term for jeans. Later, it introduced the iconic red tab to differentiate its jeans from those of its competitors.

The company moved its headquarters to its current location on Battery Street in San Francisco after an earthquake and a fire in 1906 had destroyed the company's then factory and HQ.

Levi's is making a comeback on the public markets with a valuation of $6.5 billion(€5.7 billion). The company was taken private in 1985 by the Haas family, descendants of founder Levi Strauss. The family will control about two-thirds of the shares following the initial public offering.