What Is the Levi's Logo?
The Levi's logo is the batwing: a red shape cut from the outline of a 501 jeans back pocket, with the name Levi's in white across it. It belongs to Levi Strauss & Co., the American jeans maker founded in San Francisco in 1853 by Levi Strauss, whose riveted work trousers of 1873 became known as blue jeans.
Levi's jeans also carry older marks of their own: the Two Horse leather patch, the Red Tab on the back pocket and the arched Arcuate stitching. The batwing is available as the Levi's logo SVG.
Levi's Logo Facts
| Designer | Walter Landor and Associates |
| Introduced | 1967 |
| Symbol | The outline of a 501 back pocket |
| Logo type | Emblem: the Levi's name inside the batwing shape |
| Earlier mark | The Two Horse trademark, introduced in 1886 |
| Owner | Levi Strauss & Co. |
What the Levi's Logo Means
The batwing is a pocket. Its outline comes straight from the back pocket of the 501 jean, the part of the trousers just above the Arcuate stitching. Its red is the same red as the Tab sewn onto the right back pocket of the 501 since 1936.
Levi Strauss & Co. says the origin of the batwing nickname is a mystery, and no one knows when staff began to use it.
Levi's Logo History
The company's first trademark was the Two Horse design of 1886. As its 1873 patent neared its end, Levi Strauss & Co. wanted a mark that proved its work trousers were strong. The picture shows a pair of waist overalls, the original name for 501 jeans, tied between two horses that are trying to pull them apart. It went on a leather patch at the back of the trousers, near the right back pocket, so that even customers who could not read would recognise the jeans.
In 1936 the company added the Red Tab, a small red ribbon with LEVI'S woven on it in white, sewn onto the right back pocket of the 501. Managers had found it hard to tell their jeans from copies at a distance, and the Tab solved that.
The batwing arrived in 1967, when the brand was refreshing its image. Walter Landor and Associates designed it as the new housemark and also suggested writing the name with a capital L only, as Levi's rather than LEVI'S. The logo first appeared in the red of the Tab, and later versions have come in white, orange and rainbow colours, including for Pride collections.
Levi's Marks Beyond the Logo
Levi Strauss & Co. protects several parts of its jeans as trademarks. The Arcuate, the double arch stitched on the back pockets, has been used since the first jeans of 1873 and was registered as a trademark on 16 November 1943. Its original meaning is unknown, because company records were lost in the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906.
For more brands like Levi's, browse our fashion logos.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the Levi's logo called the batwing?
Nobody knows. Levi Strauss & Co. says the origin of the nickname for its 1967 logo is a mystery.
What does the Levi's Two Horse logo show?
Two horses trying to pull apart a pair of Levi's waist overalls, to show how strong the jeans were. It was introduced in 1886.
When was the Levi's Red Tab introduced?
In 1936, on the right back pocket of the 501 jean.
Who designed the Levi's batwing logo?
Walter Landor and Associates designed it in 1967.