With the upcoming 2008 Olympic games in Beijing, China less than a couple months away, a lot of sneaker companies are putting their focus on China and trying to capture the growing middle class that is starting to have more disposable income to purchase things such as sneakers more often. And in these company’s eyes the best way to capture this consumer is to create culturally relevant products for them. We’ve seen it from Nike in the past with a “Year of…” release every year around Chinese New Year’s and we’ve seen it with Reebok as they tried their luck at the “Year of…” story this year as well as a few Yao Ming models. Now adidas is jumping into the mix with this Art of War pack of two adidas TS Lightswitch basketball shoes. One pair is White and the other Black, both will be released in the upcoming months leading up to the Olympics. The Chinese characters on the inside of the tongue mean “Fire” and “Mountain” as they were the focal points of inspiration for this “Art of War” pack. via KENLU
More photos below…
Top Character – “Fire”/Bottom Character – “Mountain”