END. and adidas SPZL Return for a Manchester-Rooted Second Collaboration

British retailer END. and adidas SPZL curator Gary Aspden are back for round two. Following their debut collaboration, the pair have reunited on a seven-piece collection that trades on Manchester’s musical heritage, enlisting Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder and Black Grape’s Kermit as the faces of the campaign.

It’s a project with real weight behind it. No, it’s not just another logo-swap collab, but one built on relationships, a considered product range, and a genuinely clever twist on the classic “hidden extra” mechanic. We put a set of questions directly to END.’s Chief Product Officer, Martin Wieczorek, and he was generous enough to give us the full picture. Here’s what he had to say — along with detailed images of the END. x adidas SPZL collection and our own read on why it matters.

A Story Rooted Further North Than Manchester

Q&A with Martin Wieczorek, Chief Product Officer, END.

How did Manchester’s culture and creative identity shape the collection and campaign?

“For us, it wasn’t just about Manchester. While it’s always been a hub for adidas and SPZL in the UK, the collaboration actually grew out of building on our 2024 project, which told the story of END. and SPZL through a coastal lens. That narrative linked back to END.’s roots in the North, exploring music, travel and the influence of sport on fashion. This collection is really an extension of that idea. During the concept phase, we talked about travelling from our base to explore the UK and Europe, bringing back influences from fashion and music that ultimately shape the way people dress.”

This is a smart bit of positioning, and worth unpacking. SPZL collections live or die on authenticity, which resonates with Gary Aspden’s entire body of work with the SPZL range since 2013 has been built on genuine subcultural ties rather than surface-level nostalgia. END. clearly understands that the brand equity here isn’t “Manchester” as a marketing shorthand; it’s the North as a lived experience. Framing this as a continuation of the 2024 coastal project rather than a standalone drop is a deliberate move — it turns a single release into an ongoing narrative. And that is exactly how you build long-term collector interest rather than one-off hype. As a Leeds-based platform, we’d argue this is also why the collection should land better with Northern sneaker audiences than a London-fronted equivalent ever could — the reference points are earned, not borrowed.

Why Shaun Ryder and Kermit

Why were Shaun Ryder and Kermit the right people to represent the collaboration?

“We wanted to reinforce the connection between SPZL and the Northern music scene, and thanks to Gary’s relationships we were able to get Shaun and Kermit involved. We’re always keen to dig a little deeper rather than go with the obvious choice, so when Black Grape came into the conversation it felt like the perfect fit. It allowed us to celebrate a part of that culture that’s slightly outside the usual gaze.”

The “slightly outside the usual gaze” line is the key detail here. Happy Mondays would have been the predictable Manchester music reference for a project like this — practically a cliché at this point in terrace and casual culture marketing. Pivoting to Black Grape via Kermit instead gives the campaign a sharper, more insider angle, and it’s consistent with how Aspden has approached casting throughout his SPZL tenure: real relationships over obvious celebrity, depth over reach. For anyone tracking adidas Originals collaborations more broadly, this is also a useful reminder that the strongest projects tend to come from designers with genuine cultural access, not just licensing deals.

The Thinking Behind the END. x adidas SPZL Product Range

What was the thinking behind selecting the New York II Outdoor, Munchen II and Lytham SPZL?

“Unlike when we’re working on a single product with a brand, creating a collection allows us to fully immerse ourselves in its world. A big part of that is exploring different areas of the product range. Working across three very different silhouettes gave us the opportunity to take the collection on a journey, creating different stories and appealing to different customers. Each shoe has its own reason for existing within the collection and its own point of view on how and why it would be worn.”

The silhouette selection itself tells you a lot about the intended audience. Firstly, the Munchen has been an SPZL mainstay since the range launched and remains one of the most wearable terrace styles around. This pair has always been a safe, high-rotation pick for newcomers to the line. The Lytham, by contrast, is a deeper cut for those already fluent in SPZL’s back catalogue. Pairing those with the New York II — historically one of the more design-forward, statement silhouettes in Aspden’s output — gives the range genuine breadth: an entry point, a collector’s piece, and a hero shoe, all in one drop. That’s a far more considered structure than most collections manage, where you often get three near-identical takes on the same shape.

How the Golden Ticket Came About

How did the Golden Ticket idea come about, and why introduce it with this release?

“It was actually a pretty simple idea. Whenever we’re developing a collection like this, we’ll sample multiple versions of each product. With the New York II, it was incredibly difficult to choose between the two final samples. Rather than leave one behind, we decided to bring both to life, but make one of them feel truly special through the Golden Ticket concept.”

This is arguably the standout mechanic of the whole release, and it’s a smart response to a problem most brands never solve well — what to do with a genuinely strong sample that doesn’t make the final cut. Rather than shelving it or diluting the range with a fourth near-identical colourway, hiding it as a Friends & Family surprise inside physical boxes brings a bit of unpredictability back into a retail landscape that’s increasingly dominated by raffles and app-based draws. It rewards people actually shopping in END.’s stores, which is a meaningful point of difference at a time when most “exclusive” mechanics are purely digital.

The Standout Piece

Which piece best represents the collaboration, and what makes it stand out?

“For me, it’s got to be the New York II. Having previously worked on the Moscrop II and the original New York as part of the ‘Three Bridges’ capsule in 2020, we knew we wanted a silhouette in this collection that we could approach in a similarly considered way. The combination of contrasting materials and colours allowed us to create something that feels completely different from both those earlier projects and the previous New York interpretations within Gary’s SPZL collections.”

The ‘Three Bridges’ reference is a useful thread for anyone building context on END.’s relationship with SPZL. This marks the latest chapter in a working relationship that goes back years, which explains the confidence in the execution here. Contrasting material and colour treatments have become something of a signature for how END. approaches SPZL collaborations specifically, distinguishing their output from Aspden’s collaborations with other retailers, which tend to lean more tonal. If you’re a collector deciding where to focus, the New York II is the piece with the clearest design lineage — and, on past form with END. x SPZL releases, typically the fastest to sell through.

END. x adidas SPZL: Release Details

The seven-piece END. x adidas SPZL collection is led by the New York II Outdoor SPZL, Munchen II SPZL and Lytham SPZL, alongside a concise apparel offer built around the return of the ST-11 Jacket, Angelzarke Track Top, Elenshaw Cap and Brockhall T-Shirt. The range is realised in soft greens, retro-running panelling and pigskin suede detailing throughout.

The END. x adidas SPZL collection launches Friday 17th July 2026 in all END. statement stores and online at endclothing.com.