THEY’VE trodden the stage, screen and star-studded events.

Now, a collection of celebrity trainers is drawing crowds in London, the brainchild of a Darwen fashion designer.

Gary Aspden, a consultant for Adidas, organised the exhibition of 600 pairs of the firm’s trainers at the Hoxton Gallery.

The exhibition, called ‘Spezial’, features trainers from celebrities including Noel Gallagher, Run DMC, NERD, Lily Allen, Ian Brown, Nas, Eminem and Public Enemy.

After a star-studded preview night on Thursday, it opened to the public yesterday.

Mr Aspden, a former Holy Trinity Primary School pupil whose family still live in the town, said: “I had seen other exhibitions that tried to cover all different brands but I wanted to so something more specific.

“I used my collection as a starting point as I thought I had about 170 pairs of Adidas trainers, but it turned out I had about 800 pairs!

“I amassed my shoes and we photographed and catalogued them all at a friend’s house in Darwen.

“I then spoke to other Adidas trainer collectors, including Noel Gallagher, and set about contacting lots of people I knew from back home that had some of the classic trainers.”

Fellow Darreners graphic designer Gary Watson and photographer Lee Stanley were commissioned by Mr Aspden to help with the exhibition, putting together a 100-page brochure.

Mr Stanley photographed all the shoes for the exhibition while Mr Watson designed the brochure and 190ft bespoke banners, which took four months to complete.

Mr Watson said: “I have done a few other projects with Gary but this was the biggest.

“There was a lot of people at the launch on Thursday and it was fantastic.

“They are looking to bring the exhibition up north later in the year, budget permitting.”