The Simpsons x adidas Forum Low C 'Bart'
Colorway: Royal Blue/Cloud White/Royal Blue · Style code: GZ1776 · Release date: November 2022 · Price: $75 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Disney x adidas Grand Court 'Simpsons' (KK3539) · adidas The Simpsons x adidas Superstar 'Squishee' (H05789) · The Simpsons x adidas Grand Court 'Bart' (H02555) · The Simpsons x adidas McCarten 'Ned Flanders' (GY8439) · The Simpsons x adidas Rivalry High 'Scratchy' (IE7565)
adidas splits its kids Forums into tiers, and the C code here marks the smallest of the two Simpsons cuts, made for preschool feet. That matters more than the ten dollar gap to the junior version: on this size run the shoe leans harder on the ankle strap for closure, so a child can pull it on without much help. It went out in November 2022 at 80 dollars.
Colour is the whole reference. Royal blue covers the quarter, the toe and the strap, the same shade the cartoon uses for Bart's shorts, with Cloud White handling the serrated Three Stripes, the laces and the rubber cupsole. Ripstop nylon replaces leather across the upper, giving the blue a matte, printed finish and cutting the weight of a shoe that will mostly be worn on playgrounds. The Forum itself dates to 1984 and was designed for basketball, though nothing about this pair pretends to that job. What carries over is the geometry: the strap, the X overlay behind it, the wide side panel and the moulded heel counter that make a Forum recognisable at any size.