As the Lunar New Year is almost upon us, adidas have released a special edition Predator 25 to celebrate the upcoming ‘Year of the Snake’. With a design inspired by snake patterns at its heart, this is a unique Predator unlike any colourway we have seen previously.
With the Lunar New Year coming up at the end of this month, adidas have begun the celebrations early with a new special edition boot to mark the beginning of the ‘Year of the Snake’. The special edition comes exclusively in the Predator fold-over tongue silo in a luxurious “Lucid Red/Gold Met/Black” colourway.
The last couple years has seen adidas take new levels to boot releases, with the reintroduction of the iconic Predator fold-over tongue becoming a fan favourite very quickly. During 2024 we saw 17 different editions of the Predator 24, which dominated the market like few boots have ever done in the past. Since then, adidas have updated the silo to produce the Predator 25, which sees slight changes in detailing and tweaks to the StrikeSkin rubber fins.
The ’Year of the Snake’ boot arrives as the third edition of Predator 25 FT, with the ‘Champagne’ and ‘Lucid red’ colourways already being dropped. It's safe to say that the detailing on this edition is unlike any we have seen before and designed to perfection. Adidas stay loyal to the traditional colours of the lunar new year with mainly red, gold and black throughout.
Let’s talk about the headline characteristics, starting with the standout snakeskin upper. The Hybrid Touch upper is decorated with a red and black snakeskin pattern – an obvious homage to the main inspiration behind the boot being ‘Year of the Snake’.
For the outsole, adidas have painted it with the same pattern as the upper, however, focus switches to the gold rather than the red seen on the top of the boot, while we see the iconic Three Stripes sticking to theme, dressed in black with golden borders.
A statement piece of the Predator, the fold over tongue, is fashioned in a ‘lucid red’ whilst featuring the words ‘Year of the Snake’ on the elastic rather than the traditional ‘Predator’. Some finer details that continue to impress include the small snake graphic featured on the heels as well as the larger snake graphic that slithers onto the insole. Both are styled in gold tones which, not only is a traditional colour used in the celebrations, but also easy on the eye, adding an elegant feel to the boot.
The Predator is also joined by a Predator Freestyle x Year of the Snake sneaker in the drop, which inverts the colour scheme of the boot, with the black base joined by red accents on the stylised Three Stripe branding.
The adidas 'Year of the Snake' Predator 25 FT is available now at prodirectsport.com/soccer