Liam Gallagher‘s fashion brand Pretty Green has shut the doors of its flagship Manchester store with ‘immediate effect’, leaving fans ‘baffled’ by the closure just weeks after Oasis announced a reunion tour.
Gallagher, who shot to fame in 1991 with older brother Noel, launched the brand in 2009 to much fanfare to showcase his passion for fashion.
Pretty Green – which was named after a song by The Jam – officially launched two months before Oasis’ break-up in August 2009.
Its range included a selection of polo shirts, ‘Wonderwall Paisley’ shirts and bucket hats favoured by Gallagher.
From the off, plain-speaking Gallagher was adamant his clothing range reached a certain level of quality and ‘cool’, telling journalists ‘otherwise you’ll end up selling s**t.’
Liam Gallagher, who shot to fame in 1991 with older brother Noel, launched his brand Pretty Green in 2009 to much fanfare to showcase his passion for fashion. Pictured: Gallagher at Pretty Green in Manchester, 2010
The closure of the brand’s flagship Manchester store with ‘immediate effect’ has left fans ‘baffled’ as it comes just weeks after Oasis announced a reunion tour
Pretty Green – which was named after a song by The Jam – offered a wide range of clothing including polo shirts, ‘Wonderwall Paisley’ shirts and bucket hats favoured by Gallagher. Pictured: Inside the store in King Street, Manchester
From the off, plain-speaking Gallagher was adamant his clothing range reached a certain level of quality and ‘cool’, telling journalists ‘otherwise you’ll end up selling s**t’
In 2019 the brand was bought out by JD Sports, and was subsequently taken on by Frasers Group in 2022, although it has continued to resonate with fans of the Oasis star.
Pretty Green fashion items continue with nods to its founder with trademark parkas and slogan t-shirts and scarfs emblazoned with famous Oasis lyrics.
The King Street store was seen as the flagship of the brand, styled with a host of music memorabilia and allusion to The Beatles and Mod culture.
Its closure means there is only one physical store remaining – in Sheffield – while it continues to trade online.
The Manchester closure has left fans ‘baffled’ and ‘gutted’ – particularly given the renewed interest in Oasis after the band announced their reunion world tour in August.
The King Street shop, which had two floors, hosted a number of music nights in the store, with performances from local bands and DJ sets from famous faces including Inspiral Carpets star Clint Boon.
In 2022 it hosted a major exhibition of photos of Liam at his Knebworth gig, taken by film director Charlie Lightening.
Posting on Instagram, bosses made the closure announcement on Monday.
It said: ‘Yesterday was our last day of trading at our Manchester store. Thank you to everyone who has supported the store over the years.
The closure of the Manchester site means there is only one physical store remaining – in Sheffield – while Pretty Green continues to trade online
By July 2010, the brand was going from strength to strength and opened its first store on the fashionably renowned Carnaby Street (pictured)
At the height of its success, Pretty Green had 11 stores in total. Pictured: The store on Carnaby Street, London in 2010
‘We leave with great memories, having met some of our idols, alongside lifelong friends and fans.
‘Thanks also to hardworking Manchester team who have made the store what it is.
‘You can shop our 15th Anniversary collection tomorrow alongside our entire winter range online and in our Sheffield store.’
Quoting an Oasis song to sign off they added: ‘We’ve got a bunch of new things coming though so stay tuned… #prettygreen #liveforever ‘
Fans of the brand commented on the post to say how gutted they were about the closure.
Liamjfd said: ‘Seems odd to close the Manchester branch—especially at a time when interest in Oasis/the Gallagher brothers is at fever pitch and only going to remain so in the lead-up to, and throughout their tour.’
Barbs_2609 said: ‘Why on earth is it closing down. People come to Manc just for that shop. Certainly won’t be going all the way to Sheffield for it’.
Benjamin Rock said: ‘Gutted to see this go!’
Alecquiesce wrote: ‘This sucks, was hoping we’d get one in London or some representation down South.’
Tony_likes_walking added: ‘Ridiculous that the centrepiece store for the brand has been closed.’
Liam first announced his fashion venture in 2009, and went on to open his first Manchester store at the top of King Street.
Promoting the brand in an introductory video, Liam described it as a ‘nice, classic range’ and joked it was ‘nothing wild, not Jean Paul Gaultier or anything’.
Let there Tee love: Gallagher smiles ahead of an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2011 wearing one of his designs
Wonder store: The Oasis frontman holds his hands up and smiles for photographers at his London shop in 2010
Despite its early success, Pretty Green ran into trouble by 2018 and fell into administration
Gallagher would go on to explain that he had been approached on several occasions to set up his own label.
However, the star says he was only tempted when his former bodyguard Steve Allen and designer Nick Holland approached him with the idea – but he was insistent that the brand would not feature the Gallagher name.
Speaking to the Oasis fan blog Stop Crying Your Heart Out in 2009, he explained: ‘I think putting your name to it, with your name on clothes is a bit s**t and that.
‘So sitting down by the pool one day…. having a couple of beers, Steve said do you fancy doing a clothing line I said, ‘well you know I will see man’. And he sort of knew a few people and that was it, over a couple of beers really, and I thought, ‘let’s go for it.”
Although he was never a designer, Liam – who said he wanted to ‘f**king get rid of’ the skinny trend at the time – said it was integral to get the brand’s t-shirts just right.
Liam’s brand opened in six House of Fraser stores around the UK but it proved to be a move which would eventually cause a headache for the brand. Pictured: The Carnaby Street store in London
He continued: ‘I don’t like thick T-shirts that are super fine. So I was involved with that, manufacturers were bringing T-shirts that were like tour T-shirts, I’m thinking I’m not having that s**t… big thick T-shirts, nah… So I’m into it, the clothes man, If it don’t fit right, or feel right on me, it’s going back.’
In an interview with Sky News shortly after the brand’s launch, Liam showed off one of his paisley T-shirts – telling the interviewer that he was inspired by ‘the ones Ringo [Starr] used to wear’ in The Beatles.
Early fans of Pretty Green included Tottenham Hotspur footballer Jermaine Defoe and the ‘Modfather’ Paul Weller.
Gallagher told the Sunday Times Magazine in 2010: ‘We’re not like all them fashion designers. These are just for lads on the street.’
Pretty Green fashion items continue with nods to its founder with trademark parkas and slogan t-shirts and scarfs emblazoned with famous Oasis lyrics
In 2008, the Mod rock-inspired brand launched the Black Label collection, which paid homage to music legends of the mid to late 60s ‘Peacock Revolution’.
At first, the brand was a surprise retail industry success. On the day of its launch, over 100,000 tried to shop on the Pretty Green website, which caused it to crash.
By July 2010, the brand was going from strength to strength and opened its first store on the fashionably renowned Carnaby Street.
Later that year, Liam won Drapers’ Menswear of the Year Award and Pretty Green launched its highly-anticipated womenswear range.
In 2012, the brand opened its first international stores in Tokyo and Copenhagen. At the height of its success, the company had 11 stores in total.
In 2022 Frasers Group took on the brand from JD Sports. Pictured: Inside the brand’s Carnaby Street store in 2010
Describing how he approached his fashion business, Liam explained: ‘If it isn’t cool it gets binned … I know people might buy it anyway and not everyone’s me, but that’s how it is: you’ve got to look at every detail, otherwise you’ll end up selling s**t.’
Three years later, Liam’s brand opened in six House of Fraser stores around the UK – a move which would eventually cause a headache for the brand.
The company took a substantial hit when House of Fraser – one of its key stockists – went into administration in 2018.
At the time, Pretty Green was owed more than £500,000 by House of Fraser and subsequently fell into administration six months later.
In April 2019, Pretty Green was bought out by JD Sports, but almost 100 members of staff lost their jobs.
According to BusinessLive, the JD Sports and Pretty Green deal was worth £3.3m.
Around this time, Gallagher is believed to have quietly parted ways with the brand.
JD Sports said it had plans to revive the brand, and opened a new Pretty Green store further down King Street in 2021.
Liam famously paid a visit with his mother Peggy that year – surprising fans in the process.
But despite these efforts it was reported that Pretty Green still owed £16m to creditors, including suppliers and Facebook who provided social media ads.
In 2022 Frasers Group took on the brand from JD Sports. The Leeds store of Pretty Green closed in June.
Noel and Liam Gallagher sensationally confirmed in August that Oasis – one of the biggest bands in British music history – will reform for a mammoth tour around the UK and Ireland.
After weeks of growing speculation about a comeback, the Manchester brothers have finally put their 15-year feud on ice to announce they will be performing together again, 34 years after their first gig.
The 14-show UK tour will run from July 4 to August 17, kicking off at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium before the brothers pack out Heaton Park in Manchester, Wembley in London, Murrayfield in Edinburgh and Croke Park in Dublin.