Having first been created as a limited-edition silhouette in commemoration of its namesake city hosting the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the adidas Manchester has since become a major cultural touchpoint for fans of the brand across the world. This December, adidas SPEZIAL pays homage to the shoe’s cultural roots with the launch of the Manchester 89 SPZL. Upon release in 2002, the original adidas Manchester was in many ways an acknowledgement of the love affair between youths in the North West of England and the adidas ‘City Series’ that began in the 1980s and continues to this day. For this new iteration, the silhouette’s upper is matched with asymmetric premium suede toe overlays which create a subtle contrast with the rest of the shoe and take inspiration from 1990s Russian made Handball SPEZIALs. The coveted shoe is finished in a classic navy, light blue, and red colourway as a nod to the city’s iconic football teams.  During these pivotal decades in Manchester the music scene was thriving, often coined ‘Madchester’, this distinctive musical movement that sprung up was characterized by a lively sound that blended alternative rock with influences such as 1960s pop, psychedelia and acid house.

Speaking about the shoes background to HIP, adidas SPEZIAL founder and curator Gary Aspden stated – “The ’89’ in the naming has clear cultural connotations for Manchester. It was a year when in terms of music and creativity Manchester was the most important and directional city on the planet. Manchester’s cultural impact in that year may be the first thing that springs to mind for many, but the naming primarily relates to the design language used in the shoe. As with all things SPEZIAL, the design decisions connect back to the history of the three stripes. The 89 in the name is primarily about the fact that the use of parallel edged stripes was commonplace in late 80s ‘City Series’ designs that adidas released around then. The reflective materials used for the stripes and heel are another feature that reference that era. If we were to do a new version of the Manchester, then the shoe needed to go somewhere new, but it needed to reference previous colour palettes of adidas Manchester releases and needed to stay with the Handball SPEZIAL silhouette that the lineage of the adidas Manchester is synonymous with”.

The adidas Originals Manchester 89 SPZL launches at HIP via online raffle and in both our Leeds and Nottingham stores on 16/12/20 on a first come, first served basis with social distancing measures in place.