Nike Sportswear is presenting a new edition of the Year of the Dragon AF1 in honor of the 2012 Chinese New Year.

Inspired by the concept of “dragon,” this low top features a design that fuses dragon boat imagery with traditional Chinese dragon iconography. This sneaker marks the 30th anniversary of this classic design.

2012 is known as the “Year of the Water Dragon” so it makes sense that the dragon boat serves as the primary inspiration for this shoe. The upper includes red suede with an embossed scale pattern, while the outsole and part of the upper are made of bright blue leather. The overall design echoes that of a dragon boat, evoking a red boat floating along a blue lake, with the golden Swoosh emphasizing the nobility and majesty of the dragon.

Additional details on the shoe include a multi-colored cloud pattern on the cushion, the character for “dragon” in ancient oracle bone script on the heel counter, pearl dubrets with the Roman numerals “XXX”, and the premium aglets. They also come with an extra set of red shoelaces.

The Year of the Dragon special edition AIR FORCE 1 LOW will be released on June 23rd, the date of this year’s Dragon Boat Festival, at select global retailers.—Eric Cano (@Iamericcano)

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