The Britpop bands of the 90s have a lot to answer for. As the likes of Oasis, The Verve and Blur rose to the dizzying heights of fame, an entire style of dress was popularised alongside their music.
Impelled by the band’s casual fashion statements, fans in Manchester went ‘mad fer’ parkas, polos and retro Adidas jackets. And some still haven’t quite grown out of them.
But of course, it’s not the first time music has led such a fashion revolution. Music, culture and fashion have had a longstanding relationship.
From the mods and rockers subcultures of the 60s and 70s, to the emo and scene kids of the 00s, it’s always been about identity, expression and feeling inspired.
Starting out as a club residency, the brand is now committed to capturing the vibe around Manchester through streetwear – putting a contemporary twist on musically-influenced clothing.
Typical Gallagher fashion altus apparel t-shirt
Tom Horner, founder of altus tells us how his inspirations have shaped his designs.
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“After what started out back in the day as a DJ residency at a club in West Yorkshire in my student days, Altus has always had firm roots in house and techno,” he said.
“Previous pieces that I’ve released have donned DJs that have inspired me, or lyrics from samples or tracks that are synonymous with those genres. My apparel will always give a little nod to house and techno in some way.”
“I go through stages where I’ll hammer disco sounds for a good month, then move in a completely different direction into something darker and more progressive. I think this comes across in some of the apparel I’ve released recently.
altus apparel fitsCanal view in Castlefield. Image: altus apparel
Tom is also a keen photographer and gathers plenty of inspiration from the industrial and gritty backdrop of Manchester itself.
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“I’ve been doing a lot of street photography in and around Manchester, mainly around the canal in Castlefield where I live,” he said.
“The street art has been something that has definitely inspired some of my recent designs and I’m pretty sure that will continue into future drops.”
“My latest piece is a classic beanie hat. This is a very simple design and something that I think reflects my surroundings and recent inspiration from listening to a lot of minimal techno.
“Music is such a powerful way to communicate feelings and emotion. I think both industries have kind of gone back to basics. There’s nowhere to hide anymore. So, unless you’re doing something original or something that you’re passionate about, then it’s quite transparent.”
The altus beanie Image: altus apparel
To maintain the brand’s music-based values, Tom makes sure music remains at the heart of everything altus does.
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He immerses altus in the scene by producing relevant playlists, promoting DJs and mixes, supporting events and gigs and sharing content on social media.
Meanwhile, he remains humble at the thought of people buying his designs and sharing his passions.
“I really hope that my interests and messages resonate with likeminded creatives,” he said.
“It’s a weirdly fulfilling feeling when someone buys a piece that you’ve designed. To say that someone holds similar values, or a common interest with you is one thing, but for someone to invest in a piece that I’ve created feels very special.
“Lockdown has given me the opportunity to realign and really focus on my designs and growing the brand. I’ve got a capsule of hoodies and new tees dropping before Christmas, and each piece is improving in terms of design and quality.”
To get your hands on some altus garms, head over to their website.
Style
Manchester City finally release special Year of the Horse collection for Lunar celebrations
Danny Jones
Manchester City have officially launched their new ‘Year of the Horse’ kit, along with several other items in their latest lifestyle range.
The collection, which has been released as part of the Lunar New Year Celebrations, was leaked online in late 2025 before being officially teased earlier this year, but now Man City have fully unveiled the limited edition clothing items.
It follows the commercial success of their previous Chinese New Year-inspired kits and wider fashion lines over the last few seasons.
For anyone not up to speed on their Zodiac calendar knowledge, 2026 is officially (you guessed it) the year of the horse, hence this choice for the new ‘Capsule Collection’.
“Set in earthy, neutral tones, the limited-edition Year of the Horse Capsule Collection captures both the stillness of vintage Chinese portraiture and the motion of a team in full stride.”
Revolving around a grey and almost beige colour palette, the full drop includes a new pre-match ‘Anthem’ jacket, a dark graphic design tee, a baseball cap, as well as a soft horse plushie.
The focal point, however, is obviously the jersey itself – though it remains to be confirmed whether or not the special seasonal strip will be worn in any games this campaign as other one-off/special limited edition shirts have been in the past.
The price points range from £15 for the soft toy to £90 for the adult shirt, with the aforementioned Puma KING Anthem zip-up jacket already available in six colours.
What do you make of the latest lifestyle collection, Blues?
Somewhat fittingly, the Year of the Horse and other items finally debuted on the same day that their local rivals across the other side of town, Manchester United, released some new threads of their own: the second Adidas x The Stone Roses collection.
As for this years Lunar celebrations, the official plans for here in Manchester city centre have now been revealed. You can find out more down below.
Manchester United officially launch second Adidas fashion collab with The Stone Roses
Danny Jones
After several weeks of teasers, the latest fashion collab between Adidas, Manchester United and The Stone Roses has officially revealed.
We have no doubt this one will be lapped up just as quickly as the first.
Following images of the new Stone Roses x Man United kit and the focal point of this new collection being leaked online earlier this month, the second drop by Adidas has now been unveiled in full.
Releasing another stylistic video to the tune of the legendary Manc band’s famous anthem, ‘I Wanna Be Adored’, players both past and present from the men’s and women’s team star in the launch video.
As you can see, not only did the players get involved with the shoot as expected, but the clip also includes a snippet of archive footage featuring a young Ian Brown in a short but profound talking head.
The Stone Roses frontman, and indeed other members of the band, have never made their love of United a secret – none more so than the late, great Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield – and the supporters have also shared plenty of it back.
Be it through ‘This Is The One’ being chosen by Gary Neville as the official walk-out song at Old Trafford and various chants sung to Stone Roses tunes, to the previous collab back in February 2024, the two iconic cultural brands pretty much go hand in hand.
Besides the next multi-coloured paint-splashed shirt, which leaked first, as well as a new bucket hat (again, very era appropriate), there are scarves, a graphic design t-shirt, two sets of shorts and even two different pairs of shoes.
Images of the white Stone Roses trainers also popped up in leaks across various Man United fan accounts on social media, but few had seen the black ZX 600 Adidas trainers until now.
What do you make of the latest batch of lifestyle fashion from the club?
Meanwhile, with just days left in the transfer window, it remains to be seen whether new interim manager Michael Carrick will be rewarded for his first two wins against the top two in the league with any reinforcements before the end of January – but there are some rumblings…
Hannah Starkie -
16th November 2020 
