Nineties nostalgia is back. That couldn't have come at a better time for Levi Strauss.

Sales at the brand, whose jeans were one of the 1990s core staples, sagged after consumers shifted to newer designs and the company failed to capitalize. Yet rebounding interest in low-rise jeans and other looks from the decade has given the iconic brand a new life.

Levi's is trying to take advantage of the back-to-the-future shift in style tastes. The company is offering new designs that mimic its coveted vintage pairs, like the 517 jeans featured in "Love Story," the hit show chronicling the romance between John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy.

It is also trying to move beyond jeans by branching into other pieces from the period, such as slip dresses and leather jackets.

"We're already synonymous with the '90s style," Levi's Vice President of Global Marketing Anne Cambria said in an interview. "We really want to amplify the moment."

The on-trend products, along with a push to sell directly to consumers through its own website and growing fleet of branded stores, is putting Levi's on its strongest business footing in years, according to analysts.

The company forecasts as much as 7.5% sales growth for the year ending in November. Such growth would mark Levi's biggest annual revenue gain since going public again in 2019, excluding a postpandemic rebound.

Among the shoppers who are back to buying Levi's denim is Jackie Schexnaider, of Lafayette, La. Schexnaider, 47 years old, grew up wearing Levi's jeans she bought at a local department store but later abandoned them for trendier and stretchier styles from brands like AG, Gap and Paige.

Now, the content creator is back to buying Levi's rigid denim, this time straight from its website. "The vintage Levi's look is so popular right now," she said. "The wash in certain styles are giving that throwback vibe."

Levi's, despite its gains, still faces challenges. Its profit isn't up as much as sales, because of marketing costs, tariffs and a shift to outsourcing more of its order fulfillment, after mostly using distribution centers it owned and operated.

And analysts said the company is taking a big risk betting on branded stores. For the stores to succeed, Levi's will need real-estate and merchandising expertise it didn't need before and for consumers squeezed by higher gas and other prices to keep making purchases in stores.

"If you build them and the consumer doesn't come, you're kind of screwed," BNP Paribas analyst Laurent Vasilescu said.

Founded in 1853, Levi's long operated as a wholesale men's denim business selling the same rigid jeans it once made for miners during the California gold rush. It became a streetwear fixture during the 1990s, when everyone from Kate Moss to Princess Diana to Steve Jobs-not to mention the cast of "Friends"-donned its flagship 501s.

Shoppers often sized up to get a lower rise, and women frequently bought men's styles like the 517 jeans worn by Bessette.

Sales slowed, however, after ultra-low-rise stretchy jeans and premium denim gained popularity. Levi's also kept relying on department stores and other retailers, while competitors like Gap embraced e-commerce. Sales cratered.

Levi's, which was privately owned from 1985 to 2019, is clawing its way back. Revenue is up more than 11% on a reported basis to $3.3 billion in the first half of this fiscal year. Due to this progress, the company has raised its full-year guidance twice. Analysts say that outlook is still conservative. Levi's reports its third-quarter results this week.

Now swarms scour vintage stores hunting for Coach purses, Champion sweatshirts and Ralph Lauren pullovers popular in the 1990s, as well as vintage Levi's.

Shoppers also are showing interest in products inspired by Levi's archives, said Jana Henning, chief merchandising officer for the company's women's business. Among the newly popular offerings: a slouchier, lower-rise version of its flagship jean sold as 501 '90s, and its wedgie bootcut fit, which was designed to flatter the backside.

Levi's has also expanded its assortment of low-rise jeans, a style that caught on toward the end of the 90s.

"Our fashion business has never been as strong as it is right now, and really the engine behind that is low," Henning said. Levi's is seeing its low-rise jeans "just grow disproportionately within the business."

As part of its turnaround strategy, the jeansmaker is trying to move beyond jeans and dress consumers from head to toe. It has been selling an assortment of other core '90s wardrobe staples like baby tees, in addition to slip dresses and leather jackets.

The changes have improved Levi's performance, analysts said, largely because of another shift in the company's playbook. It is selling more directly to consumers, allowing it to highlight its most on-trend styles-and show off other items to go with it-rather than rely on other retailers.

"They're back in the cultural conversation now," Telsey Advisory Group's Dana Telsey said. "They're adaptable to different fashion trends, and their customer relies on them to be the authority on denim."

Earlier this year, women shoppers flooded Levi's e-commerce website with searches for the 517 jeans, a men's style, after they were featured in "Love Story."

In search results, Levi's also showed the shoppers its wedgie bootcut and 501 '90s fits to appeal to women specifically, because the designs emulate vintage styles but have a more precise fit designed for women's bodies, said Priya Buening, head of U.S. e-commerce.

"It's the job of the brand and the branded website to say, 'Hey, we think this is what you're saying. This is the product that we actually think meets that need,'" Buening said.