Ben Davis is an American

workwear Workwear is clothing worn for work, especially work that involves manual labour. Often those employed within trade industries elect to be outfitted in workwear because it is built to provide durability and safety. The workwear clothing industry ...

brand, founded in 1935, in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

with headquarters in

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), ...

. The company founder, Ben Davis' grandfather, Jacob Davis was the inventor of the original

Levi's Levi Strauss & Co. () is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's () brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, to o ...

rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...

jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and paten ...

, and partnered with

Levi Strauss Levi Strauss (; born Löb Strauß ; February 26, 1829 – September 26, 1902) was a German-born American businessman who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm of Levi Strauss & Co. (Levi's) began in 1853 in San Francisco ...

in 1871 to mass-produce

blue jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and paten ...

. The brand's signature product is its heavyweight cotton/polyester blended

twill Twill is a type of textile weave with a pattern of diagonal parallel ribs. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves along with plain weave and satin. It is made by passing the weft thread over one or more warp threads then under ...

fabric, which is used for most of its

clothing. Ben Davis also offers a selection of

streetwear Streetwear is a style of casual clothing which became global in the 1990s. It grew from New York hip hop fashion and Californian surf culture to encompass elements of sportswear, punk, skateboarding and Japanese street fashion. Eventually hau ...

; most notably for the Japanese market.

History

Ben Davis was founded in 1935 as Ben F. Davis Manufacturing Co. by Ben Davis and his father, Simon Davis in

. The original store was on Valencia street in the

Mission District The Mission District (Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as The Mission (Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name is ...

. The Davis family has been involved in the US garment industry since the mid 1800s. Ben Davis black jeans were popular with the

International Longshore and Warehouse Union The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) is a labor union which primarily represents dock workers on the West Coast of the United States, Hawaii, and in British Columbia, Canada. The union was established in 1937 after the 1934 Wes ...

for their sturdy, rugged, and high quality denim. The longshoremen wore black Ben Davis jeans and white hats in the annual Labor Day parade from the Ferry Building to City Hall in San Francisco. Its clothing would catch on in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and other parts of the U.S. The brand was later worn by

Chicano Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...

, African-American,

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, Irish-American and

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

youth. Initially, tags on Ben Davis clothing read "Union Made Plenty Tough"; this was changed to "USA Made Plenty Tough" after a union dispute in 2004,7/20/2004, Ben Davis Workers Walk Off Job
/ref> and then to "Est. 1935 Plenty Tough" after certain products began to be sourced from outside the U.S. Co-founder Ben Davis died on February 19, 2009. The company has been run by his son Frank Davis since 1995, who was interviewed in a

Grand Royal Grand Royal was the Los Angeles, California-based vanity record label set up in 1992 by rap group Beastie Boys in conjunction with Capitol Records after the group left Def Jam Recordings. ''Grand Royal'' was also the name of a magazine written a ...

magazine article. In 2019, Ben Davis collaborated with Supreme to release a fall/winter collection as a tribute to American workwear.

In popular culture

Ben Davis is popular in some music-related subcultures, especially West Coast rappers. The clothing is popular among

and "

cholo ''Cholo'' () is a loosely defined Spanish term that has had various meanings. Its origin is a somewhat derogatory term for people of mixed-blood heritage in the Spanish Empire in Latin America and its successor states as part of '' castas'' ...

" youth culture. Ben Davis shirts have been shown in the 1992 "

Let Me Ride "Let Me Ride" is a song by rapper and producer Dr. Dre, released in 1993 as the third single from his debut studio album, ''The Chronic''. It experienced moderate success on the charts, until it became a massive hit when Dre won a Grammy Award fo ...

" video from rapper

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

, the

Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...

have mentioned the brand in their music, and

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred t ...

used a Ben Davis shirt in his music video for the song "

Real Muthaphuckkin G's "Real Muthaphuckkin G's," or "Real Compton City G's" in its radio edit, is a song released in August 1993 by American rapper Eazy-E with guest rappers Gangsta Dresta and BG Knocc Out. Peaking at #42 on ''Billboards Hot 100, and the most s ...

". Chicano rapper

Lil Rob Roberto L. Flores (born September 21, 1975), better known by his stage name Lil Rob, is an American rapper, producer, and actor. Biography Flores was born in San Diego and raised in La Colonia de Eden Gardens, a Mexican American neighborhood in ...

has mentioned Ben Davis clothing in his songs. Also the Mexican rapper made an entire song about the Ben Davis clothing, called "Ben Davis mi marca" ('Ben Davis my brand').

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

mentions Ben Davis in his song "Ghetto Vet" on his ''War and Peace Vol. 1'' album and also wears a Ben Davis shirt on his "Friday" music video. On ''

Bangin' on Wax ''Bangin' on Wax'' is the debut album by American hip hop group Bloods & Crips. The album was released in 1993 by Dangerous Records. ''Bangin' on Wax'' peaked at No. 86 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. Bangin' on Wax at Billboard.Billboar ...

'', the 1993 album by

Bloods & Crips Bloods & Crips was an American gangsta rap group from Los Angeles County mostly known for their record selling song "Piru Love". History The success of N.W.A. had frustrated many in the gang community who saw the group capitalizing on the ga ...

, Crip rapper AWOL refers to Ben Davis clothing on the song "K's Up". Havokk and Prodeje from the legendary

South Central Cartel South Central Cartel is an American West Coast hip hop/ gangsta rap group based in Los Angeles, California. Discography Studio albums Collaboration albums Compilation albums *''Greatest Hits'' (2003) *''The Greatest Hits Vol. 2'' (2006) *' ...

mention wearing Ben Davis in their music.

References

External links

Ben Davis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ben Davis (Clothing) Clothing brands of the United States Clothing companies established in 1935 1935 establishments in California

History

In popular culture

See also

References

External links