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"Dear Oakley, This Is What I Want . . . . "

As far as the guys who want more crazy or original sunglass designs, considering that Oakley has been making eyewear for almost 30 years do you really think there's any originality left? Many companies copy their designs and improve them but Oakley has been innovative and bold from the very beginning. In my opinion, Oakley doesn't have to prove anything.

Concerning plain-jane glasses, you can blame that on the average Oakley consumer. The awesome, old school crazy styles never sold well among the masses. Sure, die hard Oakley fans would buy them but compare the number of those people to general Oakley sunglass wearers and you can see why Oakley doesn't do many innovative things anymore.

All of Oakley's new glasses are meant for the cookie cutter consumers out there who want a black frame with a grey (in most cases Warm Grey) lens. So Oakley is really only catering to what the average consumer wants. Is that wrong? I don't think so. It sucks for the hardcore fans but that's how it goes sometimes.
I agree that many companies copy Oakley's designs and in some cases improve on them but for them to not have to prove anything is quite a slippery slope. But that depends on what direction the company wants to go. Before they were sold to Lux, weren't they always about pushing the boundaries and not settling for mediocrity and the status quo? If they're taking their business in a different direction (to me it's clear that they have) then that's fine. But eventually they will just be another run of the mill active wear producer instead of being the one company that blows people's minds. Some people are okay with that, others not so much. I kind of fall in between. I definitely don't blame either side of the argument.

As for the Warm Grey lenses, it just seems like it cheapens the sunglasses for me. For example, I bought a pair of Polished Black Oil Rigs with Gunmental icons that came with Warm Grey. Call it personal taste but I would've much preferred it to have come with Black Iridium. Sure it's most likely a way to save on costs for them as Warm Grey lenses are probably much cheaper to produce than any Iridium but it just seems like with the amount of Warm Grey I see now it seems like it's become a factor of being lazy on top of costs. Well that and revenue generating having people go out and buy replacement lenses. It just seems to cheapen the experience.
 
Before they were sold to Lux, weren't they always about pushing the boundaries and not settling for mediocrity and the status quo?

That was the case up until a few years before the Lux merger. Then they introduced stuff like the Riddle, Gascan, and Dartboard. Then Lux took them over and continued the trend though I think they are still pushing the boundaries even though they are putting out a lot of mainstream products. It used to be they put out 8 unique pieces in a lineup of 10 total models...just a guess on numbers. Now they still put out 8 unique pieces but in a lineup of 50 models. They are putting out about the same amount of cool items--again just a guesstimate--but it does get lost in the shuffle.
 
That was the case up until a few years before the Lux merger. Then they introduced stuff like the Riddle, Gascan, and Dartboard. Then Lux took them over and continued the trend though I think they are still pushing the boundaries even though they are putting out a lot of mainstream products. It used to be they put out 8 unique pieces in a lineup of 10 total models...just a guess on numbers. Now they still put out 8 unique pieces but in a lineup of 50 models. They are putting out about the same amount of cool items--again just a guesstimate--but it does get lost in the shuffle.
Agreed. The unique ones definitely get lost in the shuffle these days. That or they're priced so high that it's well out of reach for many.
 
Agreed. The unique ones definitely get lost in the shuffle these days. That or they're priced so high that it's well out of reach for many.
I agree with this, and will add that any originality shown recently has tended to be in the Women's range. Or, as you have alluded, Elite.

I cannot agree with the argument earlier that there is no room left for originality due to the time O has been in the game. The automobile, for example, has been around for over 100 years and there are no shortage of new exciting designs. Bottom line is that generally O design is currently lazy and appealing to mass market. But I'm sure the bank balance is still looking healthy. We could, however, be at the end of an era.

Also, to those who say that the more innovative designs are poorer sellers -
a) I give you the Juliet. Still a high seller.
b) if they stopped limiting their slightly unusual designs to either Limited Edition or Elite to screw us over for a bit more cash per pair, then perhaps they'd sell more.
But c) I'm sure they're no longer bothered. Jannard was an innovator. Exec Board Member Alpha, with his PowerPoint presentation, sales target summaries, and plate of cheap biscuits, is not.
 
I didn't read a lot of this thread, so if I'm overlapping anybody here my bad, but I just wanted to chime in and say that #2 and #6 on the OPs list will never happen.

What's done is done. Romeo I and Splice had their runs, and they're over. Oakley is a forward looking company, they don't like reissuing what's already been done. They've got projects lined up to release all the way to 2015, so re releasing something that debuted in 1996 just isn't going to happen.
 
Well as far as innovation, Oakley has done quite a bit in the recent years after the Luxottica merger.

1) Jawbone - changing lenses whenever you want thanks to Switchlock technology
2) Pit Boss - first Elite series frame
3) C-Six - we all know why for this one
4) Oakley HDO3D - first optically correct 3D glasses
5) Dispatch - first pair with interchangeable icons
6) Jury - most recent Oluminum frame

There's been innovation with Oakley, just not nearly the same as the 90's and early 2000's.
 
There have been other cool releases as well

Time Bomb 2 - First Oakley watch with automatic movement
FMJ - Pocket watch converson
Elite boot - Fire and puncture resistance
Hydrophobic solution
Removable Wind Jacket attachment
Eyeshade with tennis ball fuzz
Customizable backpacks, cases and watches in OCP
Blade boardshort - compression technology
 
I didn't read a lot of this thread, so if I'm overlapping anybody here my bad, but I just wanted to chime in and say that #2 and #6 on the OPs list will never happen.

What's done is done. Romeo I and Splice had their runs, and they're over. Oakley is a forward looking company, they don't like reissuing what's already been done. They've got projects lined up to release all the way to 2015, so re releasing something that debuted in 1996 just isn't going to happen.

Hmmm. Except that the Holbrook is a throwback to the Frogskin. And the Pit Bull nods back to the Monster Dog. And they are keen on releasing "2s" these days, Eyepatch, Dispatch, being most recent. They have SUCH an eye to the past, not the future. Lazily remixing old ideas instead of blowing our minds. So, given their retro styling and nods to the past these days, I do not think it unreasonable to hold a hope for a Splice 2 or another exciting large X-metal harking back to the Romeo.

It's just that these days they'll feel compelled to release them along with a little story.
"The new Oakley Floppy-Hat. We called it this because Shaun White once wore one at a school disco." or some such.

Just my opinion, and I'd dearly love for O to massively start proving me wrong. We may have to agree to disagree on this one though gents. Or perhaps I'm just too hard to please!
 
It strikes me that folks reading this thread may think that I am being negative or dissing the O - and honestly I am not.
I am just a bit disappointed that no sunglass release recently has really grabbed me by the lapels and shook me, saying "Buy Me, Buy Me".
I used to be more in awe of O designs, but I don't think that I have felt this kind of excitement/anticipation since the big clean lines of the Hijinx first appeared on the Oakley website - the only time that I have ever bought a sunglass on the day of release - and for RRP of all things!
And before that, it was X-metals. Had to have them!
But nothing has bitten me like this recently in the Mens sunglass range.

So this thread was actually started as more of a positive fervent hope for cool new things - not as a diss.
Just thought I would clarify. :smile:

I'm now off to google for Eyeshade Tennis Ball Fuzz - cos this one passed me by! Sounds awesome haha
 
@Herb
you really looking for those Eyeshades?
it´s a part of the STPL edition and hard to come by!
 

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