Ben Davis has a rich and vibrant history. The Davis family has been involved in the US garment industry since the mid 1800s when Ben’s grandfather Jacob Davis helped create the modern jeans as we know them today. 

Ben Davis was founded in 1935 as Ben F. Davis Manufacturing Co. by Ben Davis and his father, Simon Davis in San Francisco, California. The original store was on Valencia street in the Mission District. 

Jacob Davis – the godfather of modern jeans 

Levi Strauss on the left and Jacob Davis on the right

Jacob Davis emigrated to the United States as a young man, his constant travels grew his need for sturdy pants that could withstand the constant activity of day to day life as Davis was also a prospector who had traveled to San Francisco and then Canada in search of Gold. He is the father of Ben Davis and he is credited with inventing the first Rivets in Jeans. It is said that sometime in late December, Davis was making a pair for a woodcutter and came up with the idea to reinforce the pockets and seams of the duck cloth he was using with copper rivets. His idea spread like wildfire and before long Davis was making pants for every working man in the area and. It is believed that Davis started to switch to Denim as early as 1871. 

After realizing the value of his rivets, he approached Levi Strauss for financial backing and to form a partnership in filling a patent. Strauss agreed, and on May 20, 1873, US Patent No. 139,121 for “Improvements in fastening pocket openings” was issued in the name of Jacob W. Davis and Levi Strauss and Company. By this time, Strauss had set up a sizeable tailor shop in San Francisco for the production of Davis’ working pants and Jacob and his family had moved back to San Francisco for Davis to run this shop. As demand continued to grow, the shop was superseded by a manufacturing plant which Davis managed for Strauss. Davis continued to work there until 1908 when he passed away.

Union Made vs Est. 1935 plenty tough 

Initially, tags on Ben Davis clothing read “Union Made Plenty Tough“, but this was changed to “USA Made Plenty Tough” after a union dispute, and then to “Est. 1935 Plenty Tough” after some products began to be sourced from outside the U.S.

Longshoreman in downtown San Francisco in the late 1930’s, which can be presumed that some are wearing Ben Davis 

Japanese influences 

Ben Davis carries a heavy influence in Japan and currently Japan seems to be the ONLY place on the planet still actively selling and restocking Ben Davis Gorilla cut pants. Ben Davis also created a subsidiary brand called the Davis Project Line, a special line of the brand that resulted from the workwear hype in Japan

Collaborations 

Supreme – Ben Davis contemporary success was honored by a collaboration with major streetwear players, Supreme, in 2019.

Written by Sammy Aronoff