Oakley: Where Athleisure Meets Iconic Design

Athleisure became a global trend in the 2010s, and its growth hasn’t stopped since. According to Global Data’s market research, the demand for athleisure in the UK is estimated to grow from £12bn to nearly £14bn between 2023 and 2027. Iconic stateside brand Oakley is one company leading the charge in making athleisure cool again. For almost 50 years, Oakley has been churning out cutting-edge designs that perfectly contrast athleisure’s laidback aesthetic. A key fixture of fashion counterculture, Oakley has become a favourite among athletes, celebrities, and street style enthusiasts. Here’s how they’ve done just that:

@Oakley on Instagram

Oakley’s iconic design

Oakley was born in a California garage in 1975, the brainchild of Jim Jannard. Fittingly, at around the same time – 1979 – the first recorded use of the word “athleisure” was found in Nation’s Business magazine.

After Jannard moved away from making handlebar grips, he focused on creating high-performance eyewear that stood out from the crowd. Today, Oakley’s line of sunglasses reflects this stylish marriage of athleisure and distinctive design, from lifestyle sunglasses to sport performance shades featuring the latest technologies that protect the eyes while topping off one’s look. Modern and sleek frames like the Oakley Sphaera feature a futuristic wraparound silhouette in a lightweight O Matter™ frame, versatile enough to take from casual wear to outdoor sports. Meanwhile, ’80s revivals like the Oakley Frogskins come in a range of vibrant Prizm™ lens colours, nailing functionality while providing a pop of colour when worn with athleisure staples like tracksuits and sweatpants. But whether sporting an archival classic or a new release, fashionistas can now pair their Oakley eyewear with accompanying apparel, footwear, and more.

Oakley in athleisure apparel

Athleisure is widely considered the largest offshoot of streetwear. Oakley has kept itself enmeshed in the DNA of this fashion movement by doing what the best streetwear brands do: pursue key brand collaborations. These collabs feature well-designed, limited-edition pieces that get snapped up quickly, cementing Oakley’s status as an in-demand brand. For instance, they teamed up with Japanese design company Fragment for the sixth time to create the SS2023 Frogskins Collection. Here, Oakley’s line of shirts and hoodies come in monochromatic colours and clean lines, plus the distinct Oakley Frogskins silhouette in the back. The capsule collection also features new versions of the beloved Frogskins shades: the Titanium in Satin Black and the Matte Black Laser colourways come with Prizm Grey lenses for ultra-sharp visuals and even sharper outfits. Hooded sweaters and shirts are another central element of athleisure, and they can be matched with virtually any pair of Oakley sunglasses for a casual-cool vibe.

Oakley’s foray into footwear

With Oakley, collaborations are never half-baked; they ensure every brand they work with shares the same willingness for avant-garde experimentation, especially in athleisure, where things can get generic quite quickly. Take Oakley’s collaboration with the Brain Dead collective as an example, where they reimagine the original Oakley Flesh shoe with a neo-futuristic aesthetic. Available in ice and lime/blue colourways, the shoe now has a phylon layer for lighter everyday wear, plus applied oval gels on the upper as a fresh design upgrade. In creating new athleisure offerings, Oakley considers themselves scientists and engineers as much as designers, pushing the boundaries of conceptual design without compromising performance.

While runways may feature ostentatious glamour, the fashion seen on everyday streets tells a different story entirely. As emphasised in our The Most Fashionable Be Wearing Something Chill post, it’s all about relaxed and easy vibes with loose, long, and layered pieces. Oakley embodies this ethos completely, not just in their massive eyewear range but also in the clothing and sneakers they produce – and redefining athleisure at every turn.

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