CONCEPTS HOSTS A BANDULU AND LEVI'S MEZZANINE TAKEOVER

Concepts is running a Bandulu and Levi's mezzanine takeover at its Boston store from September 22 through 27, displaying Bandulu customized Levi's 501 jeans alongside a Levi's Vintage Clothing timeline, with a free Bandulu customized keychain for every Levi's purchase while supplies last. The takeover closes with a Saturday event, September 26 from 7 to 9pm, featuring music, on site customization, drinks, a raffle for the custom pairs, and a live Q&A with Bandulu and Leo Gamboa, Levi's vice president of collaborations, starting promptly at 7pm.

Leo Gamboa Already Has the Résumé for This Q&A

Gamboa was named Hypebeast's Collaborator of the Year for treating collaboration as a design practice built on intention and research rather than a licensing exercise, the same framing Concepts' own event leans on by pairing customized 501s with a full Levi's Vintage Clothing timeline rather than just new product on a rack. Bandulu, the Boston streetwear label, gets a hometown advantage other Levi's collaborators do not, a takeover inside a store a few miles from its own base rather than a pop up in a market it has to introduce itself to. Levi's has kept a steady collaboration calendar all year, pairing with Sky High Farm at Dover Street Market LA in July, a run of partner driven storytelling that lines up with why Gamboa won the Hypebeast recognition in the first place.

Concepts Keeps Turning Its Mezzanine Into a Storytelling Deck

This is not Concepts' first mezzanine used as a brand story rather than a sales floor this year. AWAKE NY landed a Summer 26 capsule at Concepts during the store's 30th anniversary year in July, and Concepts' New Balance 990v4 Patina release the same month leaned on the idea that the shoe is built to age rather than stay pristine. The Bandulu and Levi's takeover follows an identical pattern, treat the mezzanine as a place to explain a collaboration's thinking, then let the Saturday event and the keychain giveaway do the selling. For a five day takeover, the free keychain is the smallest gesture. The Saturday Q&A with the executive who greenlit the collaboration is the one most collectors will show up for.