Matt Varga Over the past few years, we have gotten accustomed to the odd China-exclusive colorway. That’s particularly true in the realm of basketball, as the sport crests in popularity in the mainland. What’s more unprecedented is a China-exclusive silhouette, but it appears that exactly that is at hand with the sudden appearance of the Nike ST Flare.
Presumably disseminated to Chinese creators and sneaker media, Nike’s official announcement of the ST Flare specifically designates it as a China-exclusive, tooled for the rich recent history of outdoor basketball in the country. That hardware is immediately apparent in some of these up-close shots, tackling unforgiving concrete surfaces on two fronts: XDR rubber defines the outsole, while deep groves in the herringbone traction add overall thickness that should extend the lifespan of the ST Flare beyond run-of-the-mill models. Working our way up, Cushlon 3.0 foam paces the midsole, with an additional Air Zoom unit embedded within. Finally, a Flywire-equipped engineered mesh upper closes the gap between lockdown and breathability.
Again, a Nike product exclusively released in China isn’t something we spot every day, but 2022’s Court Dragon is a forebear in that regard, the Tinker Hatfield similarly positioned as an answer to China’s love for outdoor hoops. Crucially, the throwback design language of that Tinker Hatfield design is nowhere to be found, with the ST Flare instead leaning entirely modern, sharing some DNA with low-tops like the Nike A’One.
At the time of this writing, a June 1st release for the Nike ST Flare is expected, but a retail price is largely unknown. For now, catch detailed shots of the new silhouette included below, and keep our Sneaker Release Dates page close by for further news as it comes.
