FASHION FOR A GENIUS

Levi's Acquires Einstein's Iconic Leather Jacket

No one would ever accuse Albert Einstein of being a fashion plate.

But one thing he held close to his sense of style was his brown leather jacket, which even appeared on the cover of Time magazine.

That leather jacket was manufactured by Levi Strauss & Co., which called it the Cossack jacket. The jacket was bought by Einstein when he was becoming a U.S. citizen in the mid 1930s and was worn by him regularly. It appeared in several photos snapped of the scientist, including a shot by famed photographer Lotte Jacobi in 1938.

The jacket was auctioned off by Christie's auction house in London and Levi's had the winning bid of $146,744. It now will be added to the San Francisco company's archives.

"Albert Einstein was a genius and an icon. This jacket is just one more example of Levi's products authentically being at the center of culture," said Tracey Panek, Levi's historian. "Amazingly, after all these years, Einstein's jacket retains his scent and smells of smoke. It feels so satisfying to be a part of preserving this history."