Lee is an iconic American brand of jeans, which was established in 1889 by Henri David Lee. It is a legendary name in the history of denim fashion, and today it is a part of Kontoor Brands group.
Lee is the brand without which the history of modern fashion can not be imagined, as its iconic jeanswear is something every person should have.
Being one of the denim pioneers, the fashion label started its path from grocery distribution and quickly saw the opportunity of the business expansion to the work clothing market. This is how the story of the legend begins.
The first logo for Lee was created when the brand specialized in grocery and dry foods distribution and featured a yellow rounded badge with a smooth elegant “Lee” lettering in red. The yellow circle was outlined in a green wreath and had a delicate sans-serif tagline with the trademark number on the bottom.
Later, when the first line of the work-wear was launched, the logo was redesigned. The bold black lettering in red outline was placed on a bright yellow background between “Union Made” in red above it, and “Highest Quality Work Clothes” under it. The additional lettering featured different typefaces, from bold cursive ti solid sans-serif.
In the 1940s the iconic logo we all know today was created. A smooth uneven wordmark with all three letters connected, featured thick lines with soft contours, looking like they are made of an earthy substance. The dark gray inscription was set on a beige rectangle, and this is how the first badge, placed on the jeans looked like.
In the 1960s the brand was using a monochrome wordmark in a custom sans-serif typeface, where all the letters were placed very close to each other, and the “L” had is right bar slightly inclined to the next “E”.
The logo, designed in the 2000s was used mainly on the USA market and featured a softened wordmark from the previous logo version, executed in a white and brown palette, which looked warm, classy, and remarkable.
Another logo for the national market was introduced by the brand in 2016 and is still used in the label’s garments across the United States. It is a refined and minimized version of the logo, created in the 1940s, with its lines thinner and more delicate, executed in a dark yellow shade and placed on a white background. It looks stylish and unusual, showing the brand’s creativity and ability to change and grow.