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Northern Soul
Inspired by classic adidas styles and terrace culture, Spezial designer and Blackburn Rovers fan Gary Aspden leaves his mark on football fashion with every collection he releases
INTERVIEW Tayler Willson | PHOTOGRAPHY Ossi Piispanen
Fashion
If you haven’t heard the name Gary Aspden, you’re probably at least familiar with some of his work, even if you don’t realise it. For the past 20 years he has been behind some of adidas’s most iconic releases, and more recently has become the man responsible for their successful sub-brand adidas Spezial. Now in its sixth year, Spezial continues to stay committed to reworking classic styles and silhouettes while giving them a modern-day twist – something that’s proved especially popular on the terraces across Europe. Ahead of the line’s Spring/Summer 2020 launch, we sat down with Aspden to talk Spezial, his hometown team Blackburn Rovers and watching a game with a member of a rather popular four-piece band from Liverpool.
How did you first get into fashion?
When I was about 12 I turned up on a mate of mine’s doorstep to go to a local disco called Bogarts. He took one look at my jeans and told me that I couldn’t go with him as they were flares, when all the kids had started wearing tight jeans. I missed out on going as a consequence.
I wasn’t aware of fashion prior to that but from that day on I never looked back.
What gives you most pleasure in your job?
I am fortunate in that I have built a career around doing something that, on the whole, I enjoy doing. I care about what I do and am passionate about doing it as well as I can. As a youth I had a few jobs I didn’t like – none of which I lasted in – so I know the difference. Going to football and seeing people I don’t know wearing Spezial is always a buzz. It’s the ultimate compliment. Nowadays there are people who measure the value of trainers purely based on their resale value, which is the absolute antithesis of what it’s all about for me. We should never underestimate the value in people interacting with and enjoying wearing the product. What I wore is part of the fabric of many of my experiences and creates memories – that’s way beyond the commercial value.
Noel Gallagher, Ian Brown – you have got quite a cult celebrity following. Do they give you any tips on what they want to wear?
Not that I could pinpoint. The names you mention are northern men, who grew up working class through a particular era, so in that respect there are parallels there with my own experiences. I am grateful for the support they have given me over the years. I always end up drawing on my own experiences as a source of inspiration so I guess this intersects with their taste from time to time.
What’s the link between adidas and terrace wear?
The style of British casuals, or terrace fashion as some call it, was arguably defined in the 1980s. Anything that has come since then has its roots in what happened during that decade. It was around before that, but I believe that the 1980s was the decade that crystallised it. It was always about one-upmanship and as we grew up through the Eighties, we became more and more brand obsessed. Brands were picked up and declared “in” to be later discarded and declared “out”, sometimes only a few months later. A brand that might have been adopted by all your peers could be something that you wouldn’t be seen dead in a year later. Adidas is one of the only brands that was consistently in throughout the whole of that decade, from start to finish. A big reason for that was the depth and breadth of the product ranges that they were creating. As they evolved, we evolved with them.
What were you wearing back then?
In the mid 1990s I was chasing around trying to find deadstock adidas styles, as I was a lover of the Trefoil. I preferred a simpler design aesthetic than what was being released then. I remember finding a pair of ZX500s in a sports shop in Bradford that had a wall of deadstock. They were too small for me but that wasn’t enough to deter me. My heart ruled my head on those and when I tried to wear them out it was too uncomfortable – I ended up having to sell them on.
Gary Aspden wears the Holbeck jacket and Ashurst SPZL; sporting the Standish anorak (right)
At ease in the Newsam long-sleeve polo
Aspden adds a Meanwood bucket hat and Lotherton SPZL to his outfit
Gary Aspden wears the Holbeck jacket and Ashurst SPZL; sporting the Standish anorak (right)
At ease in the Newsam long-sleeve polo
Aspden adds a Meanwood bucket hat and Lotherton SPZL to his outfit
"Nowadays there are people who measure the value of trainers purely based on their resale value, which is the absolute antithesis of what it’s all about for me. We should never underestimate the value in people interacting with and enjoying wearing the product. What I wore is part of the fabric of many of my experiences and creates memories – that’s way beyond the commercial value."
"Going to football and seeing people i don't know wearing spezial is always a buzz. It's the ultimate compliment"
Tell us about the Blackburn team that won the Premier League back in 1994/95.
Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton were incredible, although our defence was phenomenal too. Colin Hendry was fearless. We also had Henning Berg, who was an incredible passer of the ball. So many Blackburn goals that season came from the intelligence and accuracy of Berg’s passing.
What did you love most about that title-winning Blackburn team? Was it Shearer?
Shearer was great. I never recall him placing the ball in the net – he’d always smash it. By all accounts he is a decent man as well as having been a great player.
Blackburn’s first experience of the Champions League was a tough one, going out in the group stage…
While Blackburn were one of the founding clubs in the football league, it is a small town and doesn’t have a huge fan base. When I was growing up, Blackburn were always a Second and Third Division club so just being in the top flight was a massive buzz. In truth we were always punching above our weight but we won the Premier League and no one will ever be able to take that away from us. Everyone likes to see their club do well and watch good football, but one of the best seasons I have had as a Rovers supporter was when we were in League One a couple of years back. When my son was ten he had a steward at Stamford Bridge telling him to sit down when he was celebrating a goal – spoiling the moment for an excited ten-year-old boy is not what football is about for me. You just don’t get that when you are away at Rotherham.
What are your best memories of following Blackburn in Europe?
One of my favourite memories was going away to Celtic [in the 2002/03 UEFA Cup]. About 15 of us went up there together and I christened a new Ventile parka from Stone Island – a fantastic fabric that we actually used on a couple of jackets in the early seasons of adidas Spezial. We played well but lost 1-0. Despite the result it was a great trip with a bunch of mates who I have known since I was a kid and who I still go to games with. We also lost the return leg at Ewood on a dark night of torrential rain.
Do you get to go and watch many Champions League games now?
I have lived in London and worked with adidas in various capacities for over 20 years, and while Blackburn are my team I have been to many Champions League games as a neutral. I have gone along to watch lots of fixtures at Chelsea and Arsenal. One of my favourite memories would be Chelsea vs Liverpool at Stamford Bridge around 2007. I was offered a ticket in the adidas box and as the game kicked off, there were two empty seats by me. A minute later I heard a voice say “Excuse me” – and I looked round to see Paul McCartney and his mate pointing to the empty seats. I ended up sat next to a Beatle for the whole game and he was extremely chatty and affable. He was happy to talk about The Beatles – I asked him about the lyric that name checks Blackburn in A Day in the Life – and was very diplomatic and non-committal when I asked him whether he supports Everton or Liverpool. I am a big fan of The Beatles so it was definitely a night I won’t forget.
How did you first get into fashion?
When I was about 12 I turned up on a mate of mine’s doorstep to go to a local disco called Bogarts. He took one look at my jeans and told me that I couldn’t go with him as they were flares, when all the kids had started wearing tight jeans. I missed out on going as a consequence.
I wasn’t aware of fashion prior to that but from that day on I never looked back.
What gives you most pleasure in your job?
I am fortunate in that I have built a career around doing something that, on the whole, I enjoy doing. I care about what I do and am passionate about doing it as well as I can. As a youth I had a few jobs I didn’t like – none of which I lasted in – so I know the difference. Going to football and seeing people I don’t know wearing Spezial is always a buzz. It’s the ultimate compliment. Nowadays there are people who measure the value of trainers purely based on their resale value, which is the absolute antithesis of what it’s all about for me. We should never underestimate the value in people interacting with and enjoying wearing the product. What I wore is part of the fabric of many of my experiences and creates memories – that’s way beyond the commercial value.
Noel Gallagher, Ian Brown – you have got quite a cult celebrity following. Do they give you any tips on what they want to wear?
Not that I could pinpoint. The names you mention are northern men, who grew up working class through a particular era, so in that respect there are parallels there with my own experiences. I am grateful for the support they have given me over the years. I always end up drawing on my own experiences as a source of inspiration so I guess this intersects with their taste from time to time.
What’s the link between adidas and terrace wear?
The style of British casuals, or terrace fashion as some call it, was arguably defined in the 1980s. Anything that has come since then has its roots in what happened during that decade. It was around before that, but I believe that the 1980s was the decade that crystallised it. It was always about one-upmanship and as we grew up through the Eighties, we became more and more brand obsessed. Brands were picked up and declared “in” to be later discarded and declared “out”, sometimes only a few months later. A brand that might have been adopted by all your peers could be something that you wouldn’t be seen dead in a year later. Adidas is one of the only brands that was consistently in throughout the whole of that decade, from start to finish. A big reason for that was the depth and breadth of the product ranges that they were creating. As they evolved, we evolved with them.
What were you wearing back then?
In the mid 1990s I was chasing around trying to find deadstock adidas styles, as I was a lover of the Trefoil. I preferred a simpler design aesthetic than what was being released then. I remember finding a pair of ZX500s in a sports shop in Bradford that had a wall of deadstock. They were too small for me but that wasn’t enough to deter me. My heart ruled my head on those and when I tried to wear them out it was too uncomfortable – I ended up having to sell them on.
Gary Aspden wears the Holbeck jacket and Ashurst SPZL; sporting the Standish anorak (right)
At ease in the Newsam long-sleeve polo
Aspden adds a Meanwood bucket hat and Lotherton SPZL to his outfit
Gary Aspden wears the Holbeck jacket and Ashurst SPZL; sporting the Standish anorak (right)
At ease in the Newsam long-sleeve polo
Aspden adds a Meanwood bucket hat and Lotherton SPZL to his outfit
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"Nowadays there are people who measure the value of trainers purely based on their resale value, which is the absolute antithesis of what it’s all about for me. We should never underestimate the value in people interacting with and enjoying wearing the product. What I wore is part of the fabric of many of my experiences and creates memories – that’s way beyond the commercial value."
"Going to football and seeing people i don't know wearing spezial is always a buzz. It's the ultimate compliment"
Tell us about the Blackburn team that won the Premier League back in 1994/95.
Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton were incredible, although our defence was phenomenal too. Colin Hendry was fearless. We also had Henning Berg, who was an incredible passer of the ball. So many Blackburn goals that season came from the intelligence and accuracy of Berg’s passing.
What did you love most about that title-winning Blackburn team? Was it Shearer?
Shearer was great. I never recall him placing the ball in the net – he’d always smash it. By all accounts he is a decent man as well as having been a great player.
Blackburn’s first experience of the Champions League was a tough one, going out in the group stage…
While Blackburn were one of the founding clubs in the football league, it is a small town and doesn’t have a huge fan base. When I was growing up, Blackburn were always a Second and Third Division club so just being in the top flight was a massive buzz. In truth we were always punching above our weight but we won the Premier League and no one will ever be able to take that away from us. Everyone likes to see their club do well and watch good football, but one of the best seasons I have had as a Rovers supporter was when we were in League One a couple of years back. When my son was ten he had a steward at Stamford Bridge telling him to sit down when he was celebrating a goal – spoiling the moment for an excited ten-year-old boy is not what football is about for me. You just don’t get that when you are away at Rotherham.
What are your best memories of following Blackburn in Europe?
One of my favourite memories was going away to Celtic [in the 2002/03 UEFA Cup]. About 15 of us went up there together and I christened a new Ventile parka from Stone Island – a fantastic fabric that we actually used on a couple of jackets in the early seasons of adidas Spezial. We played well but lost 1-0. Despite the result it was a great trip with a bunch of mates who I have known since I was a kid and who I still go to games with. We also lost the return leg at Ewood on a dark night of torrential rain.
Do you get to go and watch many Champions League games now?
I have lived in London and worked with adidas in various capacities for over 20 years, and while Blackburn are my team I have been to many Champions League games as a neutral. I have gone along to watch lots of fixtures at Chelsea and Arsenal. One of my favourite memories would be Chelsea vs Liverpool at Stamford Bridge around 2007. I was offered a ticket in the adidas box and as the game kicked off, there were two empty seats by me. A minute later I heard a voice say “Excuse me” – and I looked round to see Paul McCartney and his mate pointing to the empty seats. I ended up sat next to a Beatle for the whole game and he was extremely chatty and affable. He was happy to talk about The Beatles – I asked him about the lyric that name checks Blackburn in A Day in the Life – and was very diplomatic and non-committal when I asked him whether he supports Everton or Liverpool. I am a big fan of The Beatles so it was definitely a night I won’t forget.
How did you first get into fashion?
When I was about 12 I turned up on a mate of mine’s doorstep to go to a local disco called Bogarts. He took one look at my jeans and told me that I couldn’t go with him as they were flares, when all the kids had started wearing tight jeans. I missed out on going as a consequence.
I wasn’t aware of fashion prior to that but from that day on I never looked back.
What gives you most pleasure in your job?
I am fortunate in that I have built a career around doing something that, on the whole, I enjoy doing. I care about what I do and am passionate about doing it as well as I can. As a youth I had a few jobs I didn’t like – none of which I lasted in – so I know the difference. Going to football and seeing people I don’t know wearing Spezial is always a buzz. It’s the ultimate compliment. Nowadays there are people who measure the value of trainers purely based on their resale value, which is the absolute antithesis of what it’s all about for me. We should never underestimate the value in people interacting with and enjoying wearing the product. What I wore is part of the fabric of many of my experiences and creates memories – that’s way beyond the commercial value.
Noel Gallagher, Ian Brown – you have got quite a cult celebrity following. Do they give you any tips on what they want to wear?
Not that I could pinpoint. The names you mention are northern men, who grew up working class through a particular era, so in that respect there are parallels there with my own experiences. I am grateful for the support they have given me over the years. I always end up drawing on my own experiences as a source of inspiration so I guess this intersects with their taste from time to time.
What’s the link between adidas and terrace wear?
The style of British casuals, or terrace fashion as some call it, was arguably defined in the 1980s. Anything that has come since then has its roots in what happened during that decade. It was around before that, but I believe that the 1980s was the decade that crystallised it. It was always about one-upmanship and as we grew up through the Eighties, we became more and more brand obsessed. Brands were picked up and declared “in” to be later discarded and declared “out”, sometimes only a few months later. A brand that might have been adopted by all your peers could be something that you wouldn’t be seen dead in a year later. Adidas is one of the only brands that was consistently in throughout the whole of that decade, from start to finish. A big reason for that was the depth and breadth of the product ranges that they were creating. As they evolved, we evolved with them.
What were you wearing back then?
In the mid 1990s I was chasing around trying to find deadstock adidas styles, as I was a lover of the Trefoil. I preferred a simpler design aesthetic than what was being released then. I remember finding a pair of ZX500s in a sports shop in Bradford that had a wall of deadstock. They were too small for me but that wasn’t enough to deter me. My heart ruled my head on those and when I tried to wear them out it was too uncomfortable – I ended up having to sell them on.
Gary Aspden wears the Holbeck jacket and Ashurst SPZL; sporting the Standish anorak (right)
At ease in the Newsam long-sleeve polo
Aspden adds a Meanwood bucket hat and Lotherton SPZL to his outfit
Gary Aspden wears the Holbeck jacket and Ashurst SPZL; sporting the Standish anorak (right)
At ease in the Newsam long-sleeve polo
Aspden adds a Meanwood bucket hat and Lotherton SPZL to his outfit
"Nowadays there are people who measure the value of trainers purely based on their resale value, which is the absolute antithesis of what it’s all about for me. We should never underestimate the value in people interacting with and enjoying wearing the product. What I wore is part of the fabric of many of my experiences and creates memories – that’s way beyond the commercial value."
"Going to football and seeing people i don't know wearing spezial is always a buzz. It's the ultimate compliment"
Tell us about the Blackburn team that won the Premier League back in 1994/95.
Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton were incredible, although our defence was phenomenal too. Colin Hendry was fearless. We also had Henning Berg, who was an incredible passer of the ball. So many Blackburn goals that season came from the intelligence and accuracy of Berg’s passing.
What did you love most about that title-winning Blackburn team? Was it Shearer?
Shearer was great. I never recall him placing the ball in the net – he’d always smash it. By all accounts he is a decent man as well as having been a great player.
Blackburn’s first experience of the Champions League was a tough one, going out in the group stage…
While Blackburn were one of the founding clubs in the football league, it is a small town and doesn’t have a huge fan base. When I was growing up, Blackburn were always a Second and Third Division club so just being in the top flight was a massive buzz. In truth we were always punching above our weight but we won the Premier League and no one will ever be able to take that away from us. Everyone likes to see their club do well and watch good football, but one of the best seasons I have had as a Rovers supporter was when we were in League One a couple of years back. When my son was ten he had a steward at Stamford Bridge telling him to sit down when he was celebrating a goal – spoiling the moment for an excited ten-year-old boy is not what football is about for me. You just don’t get that when you are away at Rotherham.
What are your best memories of following Blackburn in Europe?
One of my favourite memories was going away to Celtic [in the 2002/03 UEFA Cup]. About 15 of us went up there together and I christened a new Ventile parka from Stone Island – a fantastic fabric that we actually used on a couple of jackets in the early seasons of adidas Spezial. We played well but lost 1-0. Despite the result it was a great trip with a bunch of mates who I have known since I was a kid and who I still go to games with. We also lost the return leg at Ewood on a dark night of torrential rain.
Do you get to go and watch many Champions League games now?
I have lived in London and worked with adidas in various capacities for over 20 years, and while Blackburn are my team I have been to many Champions League games as a neutral. I have gone along to watch lots of fixtures at Chelsea and Arsenal. One of my favourite memories would be Chelsea vs Liverpool at Stamford Bridge around 2007. I was offered a ticket in the adidas box and as the game kicked off, there were two empty seats by me. A minute later I heard a voice say “Excuse me” – and I looked round to see Paul McCartney and his mate pointing to the empty seats. I ended up sat next to a Beatle for the whole game and he was extremely chatty and affable. He was happy to talk about The Beatles – I asked him about the lyric that name checks Blackburn in A Day in the Life – and was very diplomatic and non-committal when I asked him whether he supports Everton or Liverpool. I am a big fan of The Beatles so it was definitely a night I won’t forget.
