Razerwire
And then there was X...
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 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.
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.