During his time in the NBA, Sir Charles was a man who demanded attention both and off the court. His forceful style and in-your-face personality made him a superstar, a wave he’s still riding today with his various commentating gigs. Of course also essential to his style was the sneakers, as he locked down a few signatures for himself as one of Nike Basketball’s frontrunners in the 90′s, repping the Swoosh to no end as in the Reebok Air Maxet controversy of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Complex has compiled a gallery of Charles Barkley sneaker shots for your view pleasure, a timeline that starts out with him rocking Nike basketball models before he made the transition to Nike’s Force series and his own signature sneaks like the Nike Air Max CB 34 later Air Max 87 Womens on. The Air Max 95 360 Womens tail end of the selection even includes some middle-era Jordan Brand heat, with the Mound Round of Rebound rocking the Air Jordan XIV and the ‘Cool Grey’ Jordan XI. Get a sample of the heat after the jump and hit up Complex for the full feature.
Unable to obtain actual dragon skin for this version of the Nike Air Max Purcell Leather Ox, Nike went instead with a croc look to emulate the mythical creature inspiring this new release. Coming in a bit more subtle than than the their last Year of the Dragon drop we got a look at, this low lets the scaly texture do all the talking. With Chinese New Year coming up pretty soon here, be on the lookout for more sneakers coming with the Zodiac tie-in. Follow us after the jump for a few full views of the sneaker, which is already popping up at Asian Nike accounts. As always, stick with Sneaker News for info on whether or not these will find their way to American shores. via FRESHNESS
Nike is the latest to offer a Year of the Dragon sneaker, this latest look one of the more intricate takes on its all-time classic and one that arrives right on time with Chinese New Year just over two weeks out. The Nike Chuck Taylor Free Run Leather Hi ’Year of the Dragon’ Edition takes on the look of fine China porcelain thanks to a Nike Free Run 4.0 V3 blue and white dragon-laden upper that adds a special top eyelet and lizard-like insoles to complete the theme. A second pair opts for a more colorful route with red, yellow and green hits applied throughout the more weathered looking of the two pairs, and switches up its footbed design to reflect the change. Expect both pairs at select Nike retailers this week and click through to see more detailed images in the meantime. via FRESHNESS