An industry veteran and the creator of some of the most sought-after silhouettes in sneaker culture, Jacques Chassaing was a no-brainer interview for BSTN’s European Basketball Heritage book series for reasons that go way beyond the fact that he is the original creator of the adidas Forum that debuted in 1984. His distinct philosophy behind his creativity has become inseparable from the design language at adidas and has his keen eye for the relationship between design and manufacturing has resulted in some of the brand’s all-timers – including the legendary ZX line. Jacques’ experience is a treasure trove of sneaker history and a hoard of anecdotes.
While he is technically retired, Jacques is still very much a part of the sneaker culture that he was so instrumental in shaping for the better part of five decades. Our conversation with one of the most influential designers in the history of the brand with the three stripes – covering a variety of stories on the iconic adidas Forum and beyond – was originally recorded for the EBH book series in 2022 and is published here in excerpts to commemorate the special edition adidas Forum Hi by Jacques Chassaing debuting on September 29th 2023.
On the origin of the adidas Forum:
Ultimately, the idea of making a new basketball shoe did not come from a marketing brief, like it would be today. It was much rather about adidas’ need to have a great position in basketball and cater to a variety of players. It was a follow-up to what we already had in the Superstar and in the Top Ten.
At that time, were lacking a shoe that was more stable and could provide better protection. adidas’ portfolio already offered several options for the quicker and lighter players but was lacking a model designed for athletes who put more force on their shoes either through their height and weight or through an athletic style of play that involved a lot of jumping. Ultimately, the Forum was restricted in the way we were able to design it. Our goal was to produce the best performing basketball shoe that we could, combining stability and impact protection.
On the conscious decision of putting the cross on the outside of the shoe:
The thought process at the time was: When you wanted to introduce an innovative feature on a shoe, you should put it on the outside instead of hiding it within the construction. You can try to tell the consumer about what you have built on the inside of a product but it was much more impactful to show it by putting it on the outside. That’s the reason why the cross is clearly visible in the design of the Forum.
The core concept of the shoe was to take the strapping that the players used to put on their feet and to integrate it in a shoe. But when you talk about a shoe that features integrated strapping, the people need to be able to look at the product and visually grasp the concept right away. Today, it has an emotional connection to what the consumer sees when looking at the Forum.
On emotional connections:
I might be naive, but all of the products that I have done – and some of them still having some kind of resonance today – they are all connected to a story. But the story is not about how the shoe is made. It’s about people. About events. It’s about something that you relate to a specific product.
The snow storm story [published in the print version of this interview] is the same thing. It goes beyond whether a shoe is made with leather or synthetic materials. It’s about the people you interact with and the conversations you have with them. That’s what forms an emotional connection to a product.
On the staying power of the Forum:
Speaking from a consumer point of view, I believe that the Forum is one of the best shoes to represent the values of adidas as a brand. And that’s something that the people on the outside of adidas, its consumers, its fans, understand. They can say: ‘That’s an adidas shoe!’
The limited-editon adidas Forum Hi x Jacques Chassaing releases at BSTN on Friday, September 29th. Pick up your pair via the button below!
