adidas Training ’72 NG

• MODEL: ADIDAS TRAINING '72 NG
• MADE IN: INDONESIA
• MADE ON: --/11
• LIMITED TO 200 PAIRS
• ART.NO: G46039

As British rock star Noel Gallagher released his new album “High Flying Birds” adidas Originals put out a shoe in his honor, officially dubbed the adidas Training ’72 NG. Only 200 pairs of the Noel Gallagher edition Training ’72 were made available for purchase and fans of the rock legend had to hit either No6 in London or No74 in Berlin to get their mitts on these low cut trainers.

Done in a classic colorway, the all white, full leather upper is contrasted simply by the royal blue side stripes and heel patch. The toe is reinforced with an extra layer of white leather, and the eyestays and vertical heel strip are a soft off-white suede, with Noel Gallagher’s initials written down the back in gold.

The thin white tongue also dons a gold endorsement by the musician, depicting a graphic of his face above his scrawled signature, and below the adidas Origianls trefoil logo his name is printed in large block letters. The shoes are finished off with thick, dark brown, gum outsoles and a royal blue and white patterned insole.

Packaged in the traditional adidas Originals royal blue and white striped box, the kicks come tied up with white laces but provide an extra blue pair to match the detailing.

UK sneaker enthusiast Ross Mcwaters details the story of the London release at No6:

From the moment I heard about the Training ’72 NG it was apparent this wasn’t going to be just any standard adidas release. It’s well known that Noel Gallagher is a keen collector of the three stripes, however his endorsements aren’t as well known as his fellow Mancunian Ian Brown, whose work for adidas on the Superstar 35th Anniversary and with Kazuki Kuraishi on the Originals by Originals ZX Ian was well received. Peculiarly the hype websites hadn’t featured the Training ’72 NG and picked up on it quite late considering the limited nature of the shoe, which is normally their métier. Crooked Tongues forum members gave them a mixed reception with a few people liking the chosen silhouette but not feeling the basic colorway.

The real hype however was about to begin. The Sun did an article entitled “Noel Gallagher’s gonna stroll with it” featuring excerpts from an interview with Noel where he spoke about the inspiration behind the shoe. They also revealed that there’d be a limited number of 120 available in the UK and that they’d launch exclusively in adidas No6 on Newburgh Street, London. This prompted quite a reaction and No6 was inundated with phone calls and emails enquiring about the shoe some weeks prior to release. I travelled down with a friend who’s a keen Noel fan and fellow adi lover. Travelling down by coach I was aware that a couple of eager people had queued over the previous night, two days prior to the drop.

Arriving a little after 4pm we made it down to No6 where we met up with a couple of other friends I’d arranged to queue with. The queue had been moved to Ganton Street at the end of Newburgh Street so as to not disrupt the surrounding businesses. There were around fourteen to fifteen people in front of us. Not the kind of queue I was expecting but a mixed bunch of adidas, Oasis/, and Noel fans. Mothers with their sons and girlfriends with their boyfriends, some from as far afield as Glasgow and Newcastle, with one person making it all the way from Paris.

Having established ourselves in the queue and put up our camping chairs we spent a little time getting the low down with Paolo, Joel and Sean from No6. The phone would ring every few minutes with an enquiry regarding the queue, quantity or price. It quickly became obvious there was a lot more interest in the trainer than I had initially thought and the queue increased rapidly. Fifteen to twenty more people joined and at the close of the business day we were told we could take up camp outside No6.

Spending the evening queuing outside a shop in the middle of London in October does draw attention and curious looks from passersby, especially approaching the early morning hours as people make there way home. “What are you queuing for? How much are they?” People always seem interested and slightly bemused at our dedication. The queue continued to grow sporadically with people bringing chairs, sleeping bags and camping equipment. Trying to relax enough in order to get sleep was difficult and having queued for the best part of the day that’s all I wanted to do. I found it tough going but as I looked around me I noticed that others seemed to be doing just fine.

The morning arrived and the anticipation began to build into excitement. People were still arriving even though the queue was well over 120 strong. They’d walk past with an expression on their face that read “I wish I’d arrived earlier”. Opening time slowly drew closer and the queue gathered itself as the excitement boiled over and turned into desperation for a few as fingers were pointed and accusations of queue jumping began to fly. The friendly banter from only a few hours before had been replaced with an air of anxiety. One particularly intoxicated individual who had parked himself opposite the door of No6 for an hour or so was now trying to queue jump two hours before opening time, and he felt the full wrath of several members at the front of the queue, some of whom had been queuing for nearly two full days.

9am came and for most it was only too soon. The door opened and people jostled for position as the first few were let into the shop. The first ten customers received a poster and lanyard as an extra thank you for showing roughly 36 hours of queuing perseverance. My turn came and being a relatively large size (UK 11) can have it’s drawbacks as stock can be a lot less plentiful. I managed to grab the last pair and the long wait was eventually over. Relief!

As I hung around for my friends I’d been queuing with to grab their pairs I noticed the queue was still curling around the corner. People filtered in and out, lots of happy faces coming away with the size they were after. Little by little stock began to run short and the queue was still well over the amount allocated to the store. 30 pairs left. 20 pairs left. 10 pairs left. The last few were snapped up with some people who were only queuing 2-3 hours before the shop opened coming away lucky. Twenty or so people were turned away empty handed. For those that were lucky enough to acquire a pair it was certainly an experience and more than thoroughly deserved.

written by Dylan Cromwell

photography by errol

shoes contributed by Ross Macwaters