Oasis singer Liam Gallagher has been announced as one of the new faces of fashion brand Stone Island. This is perfect timing for the brand, following on from the announcement in August of a 2025 Oasis announced reunion tour, which instantly sold out.
For music fans, wearing band T-shirts and adopting a particular style of dress has long been a way to identify themselves as part of the in-group. And the desire to show belonging by adopting a uniform in this way provides an ideal context within which brands can benefit from association with a celebrity.
The practice of celebrity endorsement has been around since the 19th century, as organisations recognised the value of celebrity notoriety in promoting their brands. Celebrity endorsement transfers the meaning associated with the celebrity to the brand. This meaning encompasses various markers of identity such as social class, gender, personality and lifestyle types.
Celebrity endorsement relies on symbolism and the desire for people to look to others as role models. When the match between celebrity and brand is aligned, such co-branding can benefit both the brand and the celebrity.
Gallagher’s association with Stone Island seems to hit the right mark. Writers have noted the intersection between music, football and textiles and clothing that underpinned the “Madchester” music scene which Oasis dominated in the 1990s. This musical subculture had a uniform: baggy trousers, loose-fitting T-shirts, bucket hats and sportswear.
Crossover between the uniform of music and football fans was evident with Stone Island, one of several premium brands becoming associated with football fans. Football fandom is also closely associated with Gallagher through his support for Manchester City Football Club.
Symbolically, Gallagher represents a nostalgic link to the Manchester of the 1990s, where football and music merged to ensure that the city was on the map. Stone Island is capitalising on this nostalgia through this brand endorsement deal and demonstrating its understanding of the value of (the right) celebrity brand.
Owning the brand
Rapper Jay-Z went a step further after noticing that his fans would turn up to early gigs dressed like him, seeking out his preferred brands to demonstrate their belonging.
In his autobiography, Decoded (2011), Jay-Z talks about approaching his favourite brand to suggest a collaboration. When it was clear that they did not understand how much influence he could have over his fans’ clothing choices, he set up his own company – Rocawear. Rather than lend his celebrity capital to another company, he has continued to extend his brand beyond music.
One of the reasons why good celebrity brand endorsement works is the trust consumers place in their favourite celebrities to align themselves to relevant brands. This links to the overall role of branding, to act as a shortcut for people to choose between similar products and match their needs and desires with the most appropriate brand.
The desire to look to celebrities, such as musicians, as lifestyle influencers can be seen as the precursor to our modern-day influencer culture. Influencer marketing, where non-celebrities promote brands, places and services which they see as aligned with their personal brand, can be seen as evolving from celebrity endorsement. The success of influencer marketing comes from similar markers as celebrity brand – symbolic alignment and trust.
What distinguishes celebrity endorsement from influencer marketing is the broader symbolism of the celebrity back story. Fans of Oasis, who were there in the 1990s, will look at Gallagher in Stone Island, trademark swagger on show, and be catapulted back to their youth. In this way, memories of nights out, nights in and the soundtrack of Oasis will enrich the image and brand with an emotional backstory.
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