Square Toes Take Over the adidas Forum With the New SQ Trainer
A deconstructed leather upper and cleated TPU outsole steer the court classic toward smart-casual dressing.
Name: adidas Forum SQ Trainer “Core Black”
Colorway: Core Black/Cream White/Core Black
SKU: KK3757
MSRP: ¥15,400 JPY (approx. $100 USD)
Release Date: September 25
Where to Buy: adidas Japan
adidas Originals has introduced the Forum SQ Trainer, a reworked take on the 1984 Forum that trades the court shoe’s familiar shape for a squared toe and a sharply angled cupsole. The first colorway arrives in black, positioning the silhouette as a smart-casual option that keeps its basketball bloodline visible beneath a more modern, architectural build.
The most immediate change is at the front of the shoe. adidas has flattened the toe into a boxy, squared profile and set it on a rubber cupsole with hard, angular edges, giving the Forum a geometric stance quite unlike the rounded toe of the original basketball model. The cupsole wraps up around the base of the upper, framing the new shape and reinforcing its blocky silhouette from every angle.
Up top, the shoe uses premium leather in a deconstructed construction, a treatment that loosens the polished finish of a traditional court upper in favor of a rawer, more relaxed character. Branding is debossed directly into the leather instead of stitched or printed on, keeping the all-black execution tonal and letting texture carry the visual interest. The result reads closer to a dress-adjacent sneaker than a heritage hoops retro.
Underfoot, adidas pairs a rugged cleated rubber outsole with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) elements. The cleated pattern gives the shoe a chunkier, more aggressive base while delivering reliable traction, and the TPU adds structure to the sole unit. It is a utilitarian touch that balances the refinement of the upper with some real-world toughness.
The Forum carries serious heritage into this update. The silhouette first arrived in 1984 as a premium basketball shoe, and its high-top version became recognizable for the X-shaped ankle strap that locked players in on court. After years as a lifestyle staple, the model surged back into the spotlight in the 2020s, helped in large part by Bad Bunny’s Forum collaborations.
The SQ Trainer pushes that legacy somewhere new. Squared toes have spread across designer footwear and menswear in recent seasons, and adidas is bringing that proportion to one of its most recognizable court silhouettes. The brand frames the shoe as a meeting point between the Forum’s traditional basketball roots and a contemporary design approach, built for wearers who want their sneakers to hold up in sharper, dressier outfits.
