Every year, Nike creates shoes dedicated to the Chinese New Year. According to the Chinese Calendar, February 7, 2008 is Chinese New Year and this year is the Year of the Rat.

Here’s the latest shoe from Nike depicting the Rat theme - the Wildwood 90 Free Trail. This sneaker is a hybrid of the Wildwood, Air Max 90 and Free Trail and comes in two colorways.

Both colorways feature a laser printed leather upper. The white colorway has white “rat fur, while the grey version is made with suede. I prefer the white by far. The grey shoe is too drab and just plain ugly.

The Chinese symbol for the word “rat” is printed in red on each shoe. These shoes are available right now at select Nike retailers, such as Juice and Limited Edition. Via HB and Fatboy.

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New Balance 577 model has a brand new evolutionary look for its 577 Clerks Pack. It is touted as having a fruity look because of its bright, luminescent colors of green, cyan blue, purple, pink and orange. This design is exclusive to Size? Stores and at size-online.co.uk with a limited edition of 250 pairs available in each colorway.

A special promotional gesture allocates four pairs of these sneakers to lucky winners of the online and jackpot machine campaign. Two special vending machines are installed in the Carnaby St. and Covent Garden Size ? Stores. Walk in customers may try their luck at winning a pair of Jackpot shoes.

These lucky shoes have their unique, limited edition trademark on the tongues. A yellow gold bag of money signifies the origins of the shoes. The wearer might think of it as a lucky charm and work out the fruit machines more often. I should think that if I were to be so fortunate as to win a pair, I would preserve it for eternity or auction them off.

I like the largely black background of the sneakers. It enables the fluorescent strips to stand out. The detailed lining of the overall of the shoe comprises of black colored crocodile skin. The younger set might even like the black shoes because of the bright dashes of colors. This is another great awesome design from the New Balance 577 model.

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After the popularity and success of the first post about the Transformer Nike Shoe toy received, I had to write about this new one. This Nike Free 7.0 Transformer toy is supposed to be released September 1st, 2007 for about $22 USD. This photo was taken in Tokyo, so this release will probably only be available in local stores there… BUT I’m pretty sure these will be for sale all over ebay. If I hear of any websites or stores that will be selling this sneaker toy, of course you all will be the first to know. Enjoy!

Collaboration with the Nike Free Trail 5.0 have been numerous. From Stussy to Atmos and now Sophnet has gave their piece. Sophnet has used the Nike Free Trail 5.0 as their template in creating the three pairs seen above. Three colors are now available: Black, Olive, and Gray. The upper features a solid with a grid print inner lining. All shoes have the white sole and laces that finish off the look in a clean manner. Check out some close ups next.

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The Nike Hybrid Trainer Dunk Frees were showcased last year and are now being officially released. The shoes are a hybrid of three Nike Shoes. The upper of the Dunk and the Air Trainer put onto the sole of the Nike Free. They both have simple colorways of white or black with camo in the panel and mid-sole. It is an interesting combination of the three Nike shoes. These are now releasing and available.

Pictures have been dropped of the upcoming Hybrid Nike Shoes. The Hybrid model include the Nike Free, Nike Air Trainer 1, and the Nike Dunk. As you can see the has some brown reptile skin, pink splatter, preforated leather, and an interesting colorway. This interesting combo may prove to be very popular. We will keep you updated with any info on these shoes.

Since we are on releases that are exclusively to Japan, here is yet another pack. This Nike Women’s Shoes “Dot Pack” feature the Nike Kikoni and some Nike Free 5.0s. The Free’s have a dot design and one pair features a rich premium purple suede. These are a great release for the Spring for women from Nike. They may be released outside of Japan if the rumor is true. We will keep you updated with any news.

 

Stussy has collaborated with Nike once again this year. They will be releasing the two special project seen above on October 14th. Both brands have produced a Dunk Hi and Free Trail as part of the World Wide Tour Series. Each shoe features a black/purple colorway and made of top materials. The release will be very limited so be sure to mark your calendars. We will keep you updated with more info of this double release.

 Check em out ladies! X-Girl has collaborated with Nike to create the Nike Free seen here. The leopard pattern is coupled with a hot pink. Personally I would never wear these and wouldn’t expect others to wear them either. But there are those out there who do like them so be ready in September when these will drop. Post what you think of these too!

The Australian shop Provider has received these Nike Frees. These Free Trail 5.0 are a collaboration between the Japanese shop Atmos and Nike. The shoe combines some crazy colors together along with a very different design. The upper has the 3M reflective on it. Check out what it looks like in More Pictures…

Ultraman, a Japanese Superhero, is celebrating his 40th anniversary. For the celebration Nike has created this Free 5.0 Priority in the colorway of Ultraman. Ultraman’s Light ray is embroidered on the upper side of the shoe. The tongue has “4 Decade” on it and the box has a special design with the Ultramn picture. These will be available August 26th in Japan. If you like the orange you should definitely grab a pair.

Here are a couple of samples from Nike of the Free Trail 5.0. The Nike Free first came out in 2004. They were inspired by the runners in Kenya who, when training, do not wear any shoes at all. The Nike Free is trying to capture that feeling of running with no shoes on. The sole of the shoe is very flexible in imitation of the human foot. These Free Trails have no release date as of yet.  More Pictures…