AVANT Magazine Volume 4 — An Anthology of American Workwear 2

AVANT Magazine is a biannual magazine founded by Eric Maggiori. It focuses on the relationship between clothing, history and its impact on our current society. 

American Workwear 2 is AVANT’s fourth issue — a sequel to our very first issue, American Workwear 1, published in February 2019.

In this volume, we explore the human stories and the collector-grade artifacts that shaped American workwear: Chinese immigrants during the Gold Rush, the discovery of rare Levi’s pants from 1880 in a California mine, and the small construction details that make collectors’ hearts race — from vent holes on work shirts to the famous chinstrap.

Levi Strauss & Co.’s former historian Lynn Downey looks back on her journey, while Taiwanese vintage aficionados explain why vintage is rising in Taiwan. We also sit down with Akira Tsuchida (Mushroom Vintage) and Michael Harris, author of Jeans of the Old West, for conversations that go deep into denim history, research, and obsession.

Each story is a window into the United States’ past — and a modern perspective on how these clothes continue to influence culture, style, and the way we look at history today.