crooked tongues magazine News Features

There's no substitute for adidas's basketball output during the 1970s and 1980s. Cobras, the Ecstasy Hi, Rivalrys, Conferences and City Lines are all unsung heroes, but the adidas Forum is still king of the court output in our eyes. Super expensive, the full grain leather, Velcro, thermoplastic heel counter, dual density inlay sole, microcellular midsole with Dellinger web and serrated multi-disk outsole made this shoe a baller's favourite beyond the sport, just because it looks so vicious. It's a shame that the high version seems to have been as 'X'd out as that distinctive side panel, but the adidas Forum Mid is still a thing of beauty that deserves more attention.

Many Crooked Tongues staffers past and present go strange at the mention of the dementedly pricey 1984 classic and while we're proud of our colourway, we can never hope to touch a Fairway Green and white version of the Forum. Especially when it's made from good quality leather. This version dropped a while back in select stores with a Forum Low, but we actually prefer it paired with the Superstar in a matching makeup — that's two of the finest basketball designs ever in a perfect colourway. Obviously we'd sooner have those colours on a Superstar 80s rather than the Superstar II, but this Shelltoe still looks perfect in this unfussy palette.

This is a great duo — like that orangutan and dog that were in the papers recently — that represents two decades of classics that have never been bettered. These just arrived and go on sale tomorrow…