Most of my hobbies have a delineation of time periods to group important moments or different eras of creative output. For example, comics have Golden, Silver, Bronze, etc ages; console video games have 1st to 8th generations. Can something like this be done for Oakley? If so, what would be your breakdown and what characterizes each period? Mine would be:

- The Beginning: 1975 to 1983. Release of the grips and first goggles

- The Sports Eyewear Age: 1984 to 1996. Redefining the sports eyewear segment with Eyeshades/Blades/RB/Zero/M frames/etc.

- The Renaissance: 1997 to 2004. Probably most collectors' favourite period where Oakley put out their most creative products from X-metals to OTT to Medusa to Time Bomb to Thump. Start/growth of AFA.

- The Transition Period: 2005 to 2007. The period before the Lux takeover when you can see the change in design language. Streetwear and fashion stuff (ie. more mainstream products) started to dominate new releases, and Iridium was practically replaced with simple brown and grey lenses.

- The Luxottica Era: Mid-2007 to Present. Self explanatory.

Hit the nail in the head there Oak. As much as a long term oakley fan that I am, im still living in the pre lux era. Whats happened over the years to make some products that had great prospects, but failed to deliver the O factor.
All the metal display stuff is so cool and screams different, also more futuristic than the plastic crap we see now (I dont mean to offend any modern display collectors!)
I just think Oakley was hijacked and i would like to see new, old school again. How about a new medusa or OTTs?
Anyone else feel my pain?
Dont get me wrong, im still buying new stuff and excited about new products, just want to see the O twist more!
Renaissance rules!

That's the feelings of many at this point. I'm sort of glad there's a bit of a more positive outlook on this site, as the Facebook groups are nonstop moaning. Get more response, but there's enough negativity in life.

Anyway I agree with pretty much what Oak broken them down to, but here are my interpretations. I do have a (+/-)1-2 year grey area between most since the transitions aren't always clear.

1975-1983: The non eyewear era. However so few things happened it's a very bare bones time.

1984-1995: The Mark I Eyewear era. These are the non-CAD designed glasses. Exceptions are of course for the Eye Jacket and Trenchcoat in the 94-95 years, however I push the era for this a bit further due to the importance of 1996 (hence the 1-2 year grey area)

1996-1998: A very short era but important. Could be 1994-1998 if you consider the grey area. CAD is in, and more importantly Oakley goes public, builds HQ, and gets online. X-Metal debuts and the Frogskins and Jackets become staples of the eyewear. Apparel, time pieces, Rx, etc...

1999-2005: The Mad Science era. Mainly 1999 and 2000 since every model except the Pro M Frame, Moon, and Racing Jacket was scrapped or redone as a 'New' or 2.0. This included all of the Wires as well. Continuing up until fashion lifestyle took over instead of things like the OTT, Medusa, etc...

2005-2009: Starting with the Gascan, Square O virtually took over. I would include the Stretchline stuff of 2004 as part of this to a degree, since it was the lead-in, and many ended up as part of the lineup anyway. I would disagree with 2007 being the cut off, as there was a lag period after the Lux takeover, and anyone at Co-pilots could still feel the energy. Jawbone was a solid sports release and things looked good with the Elite line and all that.

2010-present: Here's the trouble times. Frogs really started gaining a foothold and that almost became a self contained hobby, separate from everything else. The community sort of split too and I noticed that a lot of the old guard left and a certain thorn in my side popped up to cause me grief to no end. I think I rate this period more on a social scale than the products, but I think they go hand in hand to a degree. A certain sense of the 'fun' dropped off, and at times it felt like a chore to collect. I know I also felt this with the artist series, but I was able to recover. However I remember in 2010, I started a thread about rekindling the fire, so I was certainly hitting a dry spot. This was when I started the video series, which helped.

Will there be another era. Could be two things. Hans said Lux is getting bit. Profits are good, but they know they're losing the very thing they bought Oakley for. To turn things around, I think we need (1) something out of the box that isn't at a 4 figure price point. Seems anything cool is just priced to the point where selling a few still generated profit. Back in the day, Jim would just take the hit. (2) Stop the Made in China. This is the real thing that bugs me. I've been open to the design changes lately, and while many still don't work for me, I try not to be overly pessemistic. However a degradation in quality is just unacceptable. Make in UK, Italy, Russia, I don't care, just not from the same factories I fear they busted initially making the knockoffs.

I agree with you Dann... I would say you should almost just take that and send it to luxottica... I was thinking of sending them a letter... There are about four places i'd deem acceptable for Oakleys to be made.... first and formost the USA... and if not... i wouldnt mind Made in the UK... or Made in Germany... or even Made in Italy(sometimes)

however... i still love Oakley.... Given the drawings and the concept art i have seen and the airwave displays... and the trophies.... i definitely agree when Jim said that all the right people(minus Hans)are still there and they are still thinking the real oakley way... however i get the sense that LUX is afraid to take a risk. On the other forum, Jim said...

"I was certainly disappointed to hear about the closing of the X Metal line but I have heard there are new flagship models in the works that are killer. These are being done by the best of the best designers at Oakley.

Fear not. Jim"

If Jim says Fear not.... Given his track record for awesomeness... I like to keep reminding myself that Jim is hopeful... so I should be too...

Sounds promising anyway. Look forward to seeing the metal works stuff and ferrari range. Would like to see a Ferrari pit boss, but maybe not as red as the ducati version. A blend with matt black frame, red hinges and yellow icon would be cool. Ferrari etching logo on lens (OO black iridium polarized). Who knows, one could hope! Lol

There was a glimmer of hope at the RED event. A new watch is coming out, which the designers thought was so cool, they've been actively hiding it from Lux until the last minute in order to prevent any tampering or watering down. We've been told that 2014 will be a changing year, and all the stuff recently isn't really representative of the sketches and prototypes that are beings worked on now. Just as Lux didn't ruin things right away, it will take another period of time to correct...if they choose to.

Ultimately, money talks. With consistent double digit growth and gushing about how well Oakley's doing at each quarterly financial meeting, we all know there will be no overhaul of products and, therefore, no new era. In fact, things will stay the same for a long time. If we all want change, we gotta convince millions to stop buying Oakley.

Which won't happen. It only existed the way it did because the leader didn't care about the profit as much as long as they grew moderately and stuck to their design philosophy.

I am really curious for 2014. I think it is important for lux to remember what they bought the O for. 2014 sounds promising and I hope it will sound in a new era in which they are able to find themselves again.

I'm not generally overly pessimistic just based on LUX issues. But I will say that I feel every year lately seems to begin with a promise of new beginnings, amazing things coming, or releases that will turn the nay-sayers around. Not to say each year doesn't have a cool release to celebrate. But if each year ends with the promise of a brighter future, it seems to imply the previous year was a letdown or didn't deliver on the promises at the start.

I think it is important for lux to remember what they bought the O for. - monster_beetle

I think they mostly bought Oakley for their patents and dominance of the sports performance/active lifestyle segments basically overnight (since they really had little credibility before Oakley came into their portfolio). I don't think they're all that interested in stuff like the OTT and Medusa. As far as remembering why they bought Oakley, their growth and marketing strategies reflect that. Which is unfortunate for collectors of the older releases.


But all this makes me wonder when we will consider the start of a new era, what the triggers will be. I mean, there's no way there will a overhaul of the product design since it is so successful, and I doubt a few crazy releases to appease the old school hard core fan will be enough. I think the next era will be difficult to define since it won't be so clear-cut as it previously was.

I'm not generally overly pessimistic just based on LUX issues. But I will say that I feel every year lately seems to begin with a promise of new beginnings, amazing things coming, or releases that will turn the nay-sayers around. Not to say each year doesn't have a cool release to celebrate. But if each year ends with the promise of a brighter future, it seems to imply the previous year was a letdown or didn't deliver on the promises at the start. - oogie

I feel your pain. We've been hearing that the old Oakley will return for something like the last 5 years, so it's hard to believe anything will change now. I think the current design language will last for many more years.

There are some good products coming out. I mean we've seen the M2, Carbon Blade, Valve, Quarter Jacket and Square Wire, but there aren't any game changers in there, IMO. Hopefully releases such as the Crankshaft, Chainlink, Taper, Tinfoil and Tincan can revolutionize things, but I'm not holding my breath. I think they will be solid releases that are cool, but not revolutionary.

I don't think we can see an era until it's over, or at least the beginning is well behind us. Who'd have thought that the blocky Gascan with it's lack of fluid contours and icon to match would drive the design stylings for the rest of the decade. Who'd have thought that re-releasing the Frogskins after the failure of the New Razor Blade (commercial, I still liked them) would then bury even the Gascan's success.

I will remain optimisitic if only because there's no sense not being so unless you plan to leave the hobby (and many have). I don't get why so many stick to it, yet complain at every turn.

I think I see some glimmer of hope with the upcoming metalworks line. The design reminds me of a more refined industrial look. Funny how they took the divot tool out of the website but I would not cast a grey shadow just yet on 2014