Levi's Denim Mural, Holzweiler Lands in L.A., DVF's Capsule Espadrilles

THE ART OF JEANS: Denim artist Ian Berry takes over Place de la République in Paris with a massive mural to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Levi's iconic 501 jeans.

Levi's is also hosting a pop-up exhibit to detail the story of the original jeans brand inside of the Fluctuât Nec Mergitur café in the square, before the mural moved to Milan and Madrid.

The piece is 13 feet high and 33 feet long, and is made of pre-worn denim . Berry designed the work in his North London studio and assembled it on location in Paris. The mural depicts an iconic style through the ages, including hippie, punk, biker and cowboy, with a banner reading "Legends never die".

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Berry, a pioneer of denim murals and gardens who's been in the business for 15 years, had to change some of his traditional techniques to accommodate the large dimensions. It reads like a painting from a few feet away, before you can see the texture up close.

"People don't realize it's made of jeans", he said to WWD, "and I'll take that as a compliment."

Berry said it was always a dream to create a project of this magnitude but that while other companies had approached him in the past, he declined. He never wanted to be associated with a single brand and preferred to remain independent of denim, but decided to embark on this project because of the brand's big anniversary and its public visibility.

"This one was exciting because it's a really cool place, and I want the people can see my work in real life," he said as skateboarders performed jumps and turns in front of the room. Berry notes that his work is usually exhibited in galleries and museums and that the materials more democratic should be seen by the public.

"As I go deeper into the history and founding story of 150 years , it's something to celebrate and for artistic reasons, not just commercial ones,” he said.

Inside the exhibit, Levi's not only showcases its history, but walks through the process of creation by showing cotton plants and other raw materials used in the composition of textiles.

Normally Berry said he worked on the project for six months, but it needed time tight which resulted in a few sleepless nights. "If you've seen my studio right now, it's an absolute mess. I've never worn so many jeans," he said.

It sorts through washes and fades to find the right shades and gradients to bring a piece together. Pressed to count how many pairs went into the mural, he estimated that between 90 and 100 contributed to the artwork, which is then displayed on a stretched denim canvas.

Berry assembling the mural on the Place de la République in Paris. Kristy Sparrow

Berry, who traded a career in advertising for art, said he had considered other textiles but had found d...