A Brief History of Oakley
Jim Jannard created Oakley from his garage in 1975 with a mere $300 and grew it into one of the most iconic sunglasses brands we know today. Named after his dog Oakley Anne, the humble brand began by making handgrips for motocross motorcycles that Jim sold from the back of his car at race events. They were made from a material he had created and patented himself called ‘Unobtanium’.
In 1980, after 5 successful years of creating various motocross products, Oakley expanded into manufacturing BMX, motorcycle and ski goggles, followed by sunglasses in 1983 - using his Unobtanium material for all ear socks on the glasses.
Jump forward 12 years to 1995, Oakley was now worth $820 million and had became a public limited company, making Jannard the second richest member of the Orange County in the process. In 2007, Italian group Luxottica merged with Oakley for a total deal of $2.1 billion. (Jim Jannard then went on to create Red Digital Cinema, a camera brand which has grown into one of the most beloved in the industry.)
During the 2000 Olympics, Oakley created a moment we all remember to this day. For the men’s 100-meter race, Ato Boldon donned a futuristic pair of Oakley‘s “Over the Top” model that definitely lived up to its name. Originally developed for athletes, the uber-futuristic sunglasses quickly gathered fans in other parts of popular culture. One of them was André 3000 from Outkast, who effortlessly included the shades in his stage wardrobe.
Throughout its history, Oakley has collaborated with Fox Racing, donated specially-tinted sunglasses to protect the 33 trapped Chilean miners eyes’ upon their rescue after 3 weeks underground, and provided sunglasses to a large collection of sporting teams, including some of the worlds’ best athletes. More recently, Oakley teamed up with Vetements for a sports-meets-punk collection, as well as STAPLE for a pack of their iconic Frogskin model. There really is no limit to the brand - from sports, to fashion and everything in-between - Oakley has changed eyewear forever.
