- Take 30 seconds to register your free account to access deals, post topics, and view exclusive content! Register TodayJoin the largest Oakley Forum on the web!
Lazy?
- Thread starter Vince
- Start date
Razerwire
And then there was X...
I know you're going to think I'm just picking on you today BW, but honestly I'm not.
But let's just get one thing straight. This is the Oakley Forum. Everyone here, myself included, has a love for the brand in one way or another. Some of us like older designs, and some of us like the newer ones. Some of us even only like ONE style (and that's how the Frogskin survives perhaps
). What I'm saying here is that everyone has their own opinion on Oakley products and should be allowed to voice them - however retarded. It's a bit like car design - some of us like vintage - some of us prefer modern - no-one is right or wrong when it comes to their own personal preference. I agree that some put their point across with less dexterity than others, however.
I'm scratching my head a bit about your post though, Batters, on a number of points . . . .
1) "What else could they come up with that would exceed your expectations? Honestly it's hard coming up with anything jaw dropping after seeing everything Oakley has come out with."
I kinda partly hear where you are coming from - but are you suggesting that Oakley just sit on their laurels releasing generic eyewear product instead of pushing boundaries or designing something new and exciting? That would go against the whole ethos of the company (or, at least, their marketing department).
2) "And for those saying they want X-Metals back, they were around for almost 15 years. And the M-Frame is still around, being 20+ years old. What other company can you think of that has still has a product they introduced that long ago? If anything, with how quickly the market and fashion changes we were lucky to see these around for that long."
What other company has been pushing the same products for the last 20 years? Errrm, every automobile manufacturer (twice that period if you count the Porsche 911, Ford Mustang, etc etc), every candy/chocolate manufacturer, fast food companies, the list goes on. It's all about evolution of the products - and this is where I think folks on the forum are getting a bit upset. We want to see the next step, the next evolution - and that just doesn't appear to be happening. Yes, folks are getting tied up with the death of X-Metals, but it is because they are eager to see how that line will evolve - and how that line of thinking will evolve.
Or, as you have asked, is there any further to go after the X-Metal? Are we actually saying that was the zenith of sunglass design, and we are now just going to coast along on a sea of Frogskin derivatives til the end of time. Surely not. Right?
People on OF are worried. We all love Oakley and want to see them back at the top of their game, producing exciting products. I am still personally hopeful that that time will one day be upon us. Let's not forget we are currently living in a world of global financial crisis, where companies just don't want to take risks any more. But I live in hope that one day when we see a list of six new releases, just one of them is a bit of a risk, stuck in there to see how it floats, where someone has a design idea that gets put into production with some flair and aggression.
3) "Either way, I'm just tired of people saying Oakley isn't original like the good old days. They've been making glasses for 20+ years, honestly what else is left to do? When you come up with some ground breaking ideas or a prototype let me know."You ended with this, so I will too, as it sums up what I have said above.
It is of course not up to us - the consumer - to come up with designs for a company we love (just like we can't tell our favourite football team how to play). And especially an established company of 20+ years. And please don't ask the question "What else is left to do?", because that road leads to a company giving up on new ideas, and releasing same-old-same-old products. They need to FIND something else to do - just as they did in the past. They must have a designer somewhere with a lightbulb over his head, and a flourish to his pen.
The bottom line, my friend, (and I am not 'hating' here) is that Oakley just isn't the same as the good old days. It's a fact. It is a different world now.
But that should not be an excuse for a company we love to rest on its laurels and give up designing exciting eyewear.
Man, you are on FIRE!
Agreed 100%. While I do feel that I'm not interested in the latest stuff Oakley has put out in terms of glasses, I do keep up hope that they'll get back to their "thinking outside the box" ways in the future.
I am not sure if it's been mentioned before, but another thing that has to be taken into account is the size of the entire product line compared to the "glory days".
What were there, 30 styles in the 80-90's? I really have no idea the total but I am sure it wasn't even that much. Other than glasses they had a small clothing line, goggles, shoes & watches in the late 90's...
Now I am sure there are 100+ styles of glasses (Mens, Womans, Rx) as well as a huge goggle line, a full clothing line, a full watch line, a full bag line etc etc.
It's a LOT more expensive to have equal R&D departments for every single facet of your business and frankly not feasible. There is still TONS of innovation going on, it's just spread out over the entire product range.
Exactly!
And I totally understand Herbs, we are all Oakley brothers here.
Similar threads
