Building on their 10-year anniversary celebrations, Gary Aspden and adidas present SPZL F.C., a new collection that comes to life through a carefully crafted campaign featuring one of the game’s biggest characters, Jurgen Klopp.
Earlier this year, adidas SPZL – the premium, archive-inspired offshoot of the Three Stripes brand that has its roots firmly in football heritage – celebrated its 10-year anniversary in style with the DECADE event. While that was all about looking at what the sub-label has achieved over the last 10 years, now we get a first glimpse at what the future holds with the reveal of SPZL F.C. – a new concept within adidas SPZL that celebrates the culture of the beautiful game by bridging the worlds of lifestyle and sport. And to front the first ever SPZL F.C. campaign, Aspden and the SPZL team turned to none other than Jurgen Klopp.
Now, the eagle-eyed amongst us will have spotted Klopp wearing a special pair of Copa Mundial’s as far back as the end of last season, when he was still managing Liverpool. The even more eagle-eyed will have noticed the presence of the Modernist Trefoil logo that is the calling card of SPZL on that elongated fold-over tongue. And he was spotted in them again recently in his guest return to Borussia Dortmund's training ground. This was the first sign that something special was coming out of the Spezial camp; something more performance related than the usual lifestyle selection that the label is known for, and Klopp, it seemed, was in on the action. And now we know what that action is all about.
SPZL F.C. is a capsule collection of apparel and footwear brought to life by a carefully crafted campaign. Shot by iconic photographer Kevin Cummins alongside the team at &SON it tells a story of grassroots sport. The poignant visuals are an ode to football in its purest form, with Klopp talking about his inspirations and love of the game and the brand.
And so to the product. Central in the collection is the aforementioned Copa Mundial, but here it gets the 'Made in Germany' treatment that we've seen rolled out recently as part of adidas' 75th anniversary celebrations. The Made in Germany Copa Mundial SPZL F.C. comprises a premium leather upper (a signature of the Copa Mundial line), a foldover tongue, and red studs and stitching.
Partnering the Copa Mundial is the Mundial Team SPZL F.C., which features a black leather upper, a revised suede T toe overlay (a first for this silhouette), and the traditional oversized tongue with 'Mod Trefoil' branding.
To accompany the pitch shoes comes a training shoe that is perfect for the stands: the Lothertex SPZL F.C. trainer. These classic low profile, Three Stripe shoes are built with an adi-Tex membrane to make them weather resistant for winter away days. They come in a grey/charcoal/white colourway that complements the apparel collection.
On the clothing front, a sleek grey track top is paired with a matching pair of track bottoms, while two soft cotton items – a long sleeve polo and a crewneck – offer versatile options. Finally, rounding out the apparel lineup is a durable CORDURA parka. Each piece is completed with SPZL F.C. branding throughout.
The SPZL F.C. collection arrives in limited quantities on 17 September and is available through Confirmed and select retailers.
Please note, the Copa Mundial SPZL F.C. and Mundial Team SPZL F.C. will only be available via Confirmed and Mondays adidas Carnaby Pre-Sale event in very limited quantities.