Noel and Liam Gallagher have reunited after 15 years, and their history with the Adidas brand goes back decades.
"Because we need each other, we believe in each other," sang Noel Gallagher in the song "Acquiesce," the only track where the Oasis brothers share lead vocals. Fifteen years have passed since the Gallagher brothers, Liam and Noel, parted ways, but now they are back. The band announced this week that they will hold a series of concerts across Great Britain and Ireland in 2025. The Gallaghers have had a long-standing cult influence on the world of rock music. This Manchester duo is considered one of the last true rock stars. Their music has spread worldwide and can be heard at almost every football stadium. And while the Gallagher brothers are known for their music, their style has had an equally significant impact, especially in recent years thanks to their footwear.
When it comes to the Gallaghers, who have hated each other for years almost to the point of parody, there is one brand they are most associated with. It is Adidas. Not only have they worn this brand for over 30 years – they were known for wearing shoes like Superstar and Gazelle – but they have also had several collaborations with this brand. Recently, it has been through the SPZL line, curated by Gary Aspden, who drew inspiration from Northern England's love for the three stripes and interpreted it through the Adidas archive. Aspden was also the head of entertainment marketing at Adidas in the 90s and 2000s, where he laced up celebrities like the Gallaghers.
Noel worked with Adidas on two models, including the Sporting '72, which was released in 2011 alongside his album High Flying Birds and was limited to just 200 pairs. It was a white and blue sneaker with a rubber sole. Another model was a more unique shoe in some respects. The NG Garwen was released in 2017 for the SPZL line. The blue shoe represented Noel's love for Manchester City FC and featured his face on the tongue. Noel was involved in the entire process from the beginning. The Garwen was inspired by Adidas leisure shoes from the 70s and created based on vintage shoes from Noel's own collection.
"Some time ago, my friend Gary Aspden borrowed a pair of vintage Adidas leisure shoes (Adidas Brisbane) because he wanted to create a shoe based on them for the Adidas SPZL line," Gallagher said at the launch of the shoe. "He asked me if I would like to create a signature version as a thank you, and that's how the NG Garwen SPZL came to be."
I remember my excitement when the shoes were released. I found a store in the USA that had them, called them up, gave them my credit card information over the phone, and ordered a pair.
Noel's love for Adidas ironically goes back to a store called Oasis, not his band, but a shop in Manchester.
"There was a shop called Oasis in the Manchester Underground Market, a strange coincidence," Noel said in an interview with Adidas in 2010. "They always went to Europe and brought back all the real shoes from the football terraces like Dublin. I remember using truancy to go there and just look at those shoes in awe. Even the box itself looked amazing."
Noel joked that the band got its name from this shop, although it is said that the name comes from a tour poster that listed the Oasis Leisure Center in Swindon.
He started collecting archival Adidas shoes and said, "My collection consists exclusively of real vintage Adidas shoes that are almost falling apart. You can't wear them. I have small shoes that are size three and a half."
Noel joked that his wife came up with the theory that he obsessively collected shoes because he grew up in poverty and wanted to have everything he could afford. He says that he and his brother mostly had to steal clothes and shoes when they were younger. However, Noel later provided another reason for why he started collecting Adidas. When he got rid of one bad habit, he needed to replace it with another.
"When I stopped doing drugs, I had to focus on something, and since I'm not interested in cars, jewelry, and similar things, and I already had a lot of guitars, I decided to collect Adidas sneakers," he told The Independent in 2013. "I had a crazy amount – you couldn't open a closet without 20 pairs of Adidas sneakers falling out of it."
Noel tried to hide the shoes from his wife by putting two pairs in one box.
At one point, he collected over 100 pairs of vintage Adidas shoes, but he has reduced his collection.
"I kept the best ones, I have about 20 or 30 real vintage pairs, the rest I gave away – I donated them to charity shops. The fun thing is that when I go to the market in Camden, I still see some of my pairs there, and I've had a big temptation to buy them back."
Liam's entry into the world of footwear collaborations came later than Noel's, but it attracted more attention. Liam is a true fashion icon. If he wears some rare jacket, it's sold out the next day.
The collaboration began in 2019 when Liam performed in Hackney, London. Gary Aspden delivered him a pair of white Adidas Padiham SPZL sneakers with his name on the tongue.
"That's f***ing amazing, mate. I love that white sole," Liam said when Aspden handed him the shoes.
In 2022, Liam and Aspden introduced the LG2 SPZL model. According to Aspden, it became a record-breaking shoe for the SPZL line and Adidas.
The shoes were released again in 2023 in white, green, and with a rubber sole. Liam said he was "absolutely thrilled."
It is unclear whether there will be official Oasis sneakers in the upcoming SPZL collection, but there is speculation that some items could be directly in their style. It is also uncertain what will happen with the band after the reunion concerts, but the connection between Adidas and Oasis makes sense.
