THE Shoes: Pleasure and Pain exhibition at the Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, has kickstarted a specialist look at "sneaker culture".

Northern Sole – a celebration of design, street style and creativity, on Saturday, September 17, is inspired by the Adidas collections in the exhibition.

Headlining the event, which runs from 11am-3pm, are industrial designer Alex Taylor, who pioneered the innovative Primeknit Adidas trainer for the London 2012 Olympics; stylist and photographer Erika Bowes, who will share her passion for street style; Gemma Hanley, head of footwear design at Lulu Guinness, and local visual artist Bobzilla.

The day will look at the skills involved in the creative interpretation of the UK's street style culture and includes a visit to Shoes: Pleasure and Pain. It is free for under-25s who register online at www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk.

The Adidas collections in the exhibition belong to northern collectors Ross Macwaters and Neil Pestell, who between them own 2,600 pairs.

They were delighted to lend footwear to create a "trainer wall" in the show following the museum’s approach to acknowledged authority Stephen Donald, from Potency. He said: "It was a difficult choice as to what to include on the trainer wall, but we went for diversity – classic models from Europe, Asia and America – with the aim of displaying the best mix of what’s happened in Adidas over the years.”

The wall is an addition to the original Shoes: Pleasure and Pain V&S exhibition.

Visitors can explore the technology and style of top trainer brands on an app created by U-DOX, a digital version of the Thames and Hudson book Sneakers: The Complete Collectors’ Guide installed next to the sneaker display.

The companion trainer collections span more than 50 years. Mr Pestell owns a pair of blue "Ford Fiesta" trainers from 1975, made to coincide with the launch of the Ford Fiesta car, which he occasionally wears even though they are the only known surviving pair of the 100 made.

Fellow collector Mr Macwaters likens his mainly post-2000 collection to "laying down good wine", usually buying in his size even though 95 per cent of his shoes remain unworn.

However, he did splash out £1,600 on a rare pair of ZX 8000 that Adidas made in a single size, UK 8.5, which are much sought after as there are thought to be only 50 in the world.

“The museum has done a fantastic job in the way it’s displayed the trainers,” he said. “They sit well with the other exhibits in the show.”

Shoes: Pleasure and Pain runs until October 9.