Most people probably already know that the Chinese New Year is not celebrated at the same time as New Year's Eve, which we know in Europe. This year, the special holiday falls on February 12th and heralds the Year of the Ox. In China, a new animal from the Chinese zodiac is dedicated to every year, which determines the characteristics of the respective year. The ox is the second animal in line from this zodiac and replaces the year of the rat.

As in the past, Nike and Jordan Brand will also take part in the festivities and celebrate the Chinese holidays again in a very familiar way. This year, there will be an extensive collection again consisting of apparel and sneakers. In the usual manner, both classic and modern silhouettes are once again used and adorned by very colourful and unusual details. In addition, Converse joins the annual collection and enriches it with the very popular Chuck 70 silhouette. All in all, this year's Chinese New Year collection consists of 17 sneakers and additional apparel from Nike and Kyrie Irving's own line. Accordingly, we will see a Nike Dunk Low, a Dunk Low Disrupt for women, a Kyrie 7, an Air Max 2090, a SuperRep 2, a Blazer Mid '77, an Air Max Verona, a Blazer Mid Rebel, an Air Jordan 1 Low, an Air Jordan 5 Low, an Air Jordan 35, a Jordan Delta Breathe, three new Chuck 70s, a SuperRep Groove and an Escape Run.

Let's now take a closer look at the sources of inspiration for each model. Of course, a Chinese New Year collection cannot be released without the necessary references to the Chinese holidays. Both the Dunk Low OG and the Dunk Low Disrupt are adorned by patterns reminiscent of the typical red packaging material of fireworks. The sneakers also feature a crinkled paper look, fuse laces and warning labels. The Kyrie 7, the Air Max 2090, the SuperRep 2 as well as the Blazer Mid '77 again receive many characteristics that remind of Chinese knot technique. The tongues of some models have also been modified to allude to the temple fair  tickets. The less popular Air Max Verona and the Blazer Mid Rebel, however, use a different theme and shine in pink and white, reminiscent of peonies and spring blossoms.

The Air Jordan 1 Low is probably one of the most eye-catching sneakers from the new collection. The popular silhouette has been fitted with Bred colour blocking and features a jacquard pattern that clearly alludes to the Year of the Ox. There is also a collectible card and tassels reminiscent of lotus roots in the accompanying packaging. The Air Jordan 5 Low, on the other hand, comes with a clean Sail hue on the upper, which in typical wear-away fashion wears down over time to reveal a design inspired by firecracker packaging material. The very fresh Air Jordan 35 silhouette again gets red as well as black hues and tear-away features, while the Jordan Delta Breathe scores with floral patterns meant to evoke spring blossoms.

Latest addition Converse delivers three new colourways of the Chuck 70 and adapts the classic to the festivities. All the high-cut models make use of the aforementioned motifs and implement them in a variety of ways. From quilted patches to wavy knot patterns and bright orange uppers with firework graphics, it's all here.

The sneakers and pieces from the latest Chinese New Year collection will probably drop at Nike later this month. However, it is still unclear whether all the models will also be available in Europe.