Celebrating its 50-year anniversary, Oakley opened the doors of its Foothill Ranch (California) headquarters for five days welcoming guests, including athletes and disruptors, inside the epicenter of innovation for an immersive experience that takes a deep dive into the past, present and vision that shapes its future – including a surprise performance for the VIP crowd by Chief Visionary Travis Scott.
Oakley began in a California garage in 1975 and has now grown into a global force shaping modern sports and culture. To mark 50 years of disruption, Oakley transformed its headquarters into an ever-evolving world of storytelling, sensory installations and design. The celebration offered a deep dive into Oakley’s creative evolution throughout time with immersive experiences and product showcases - highlights of the event are below.
The Past
The celebration of 50 years honored the brand pushing beyond the possible, visionaries who saw differently, those who built what didn’t exist, athletes who rewrote the rules and cultural disruptors who turned sparks into movements:
Guests were guided through Oakley’s MUZM 2.0, a curated celebration of the brand’s most iconic products, people and moments that have made the brand what it is today. The living archive is a tribute to the boundary-pushers who have created Oakley’s DNA and its most iconic products, from Over-The-Top sunglasses and Medusa to newer releases like the MUZM Straight Jacket and MUZM Eyeshade.
The Present
Oakley was built on the idea of doing things differently, and that mindset still fuels everything it creates, with this milestone anniversary marking a new starting point. For a close-up look at what Oakley represents today, guests were invited to explore:
The Innovation Expo offered insight into current key inventions, including its fastest head systems - the Velo Mach (helmet) and Velo Kato (sunglasses) - as well as unreleased products such as the Stunt Wing, Stunt Devil, Stunt Devil S and Stunt Glider.
The Tech Expo displayed the brand’s relentless pursuit of clarity, performance and purpose that continues to set the pace for what is next, with a focus on its PRIZM color enhancements and the precision of its High Definition Optics.
The Oakley manufacturing space was opened for a rare look at the high-tech hub where raw materials, bold ideas, relentless testing and expert hands come together to create the brand’s most iconic products, made in the USA.
The Future
The road ahead for Oakley includes reshaping what is possible by expanding its spirit of imagination, disruption, curiosity and relentless urge to explore, with the experiences below providing a look into the future:
The Oakley Future Genesis, its ultimate platform to create new products, new technologies and brand executions, represents a pivotal chapter in the brand’s evolution. It comes alive in an animated fiction film that honors its rebellious roots, and the next generation is introduced with protagonist Maxine Fearlight, who offers a glimpse into the brand’s pursuit of a better tomorrow and who represents Oakley’s journey ahead to the next 50 years of sports, design and culture.
Oakley’s Axiom Experience shared the secret of the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) space visor and space suit prototypes, inviting visitors to see what astronauts see and land on the moon in a virtual reality experience. The stowable two-part deployable visor was created in partnership with Axiom Space, which was announced as part of Oakley’s 50 anniversary celebration and will equip the astronauts who will return to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years as part of NASA’s Artemis III mission.
The Oakley Meta Experience brought the next generation of AI wearables to action with live demos of the Oakley Meta HSTN, designed to amplify human potential and bring the brand’s forward-thinking DNA to life through a brand-new category of Performance AI glasses.
Surprise Performance by Travis Scott
In addition to the experiences above, Chief Visionary Travis Scott gave a surprise performance, wearing unreleased Plantaris Squared sunglasses and custom Oakley apparel during a celebratory party on July 12. To close out the night, GRAMMY Award-winning diamond-certified producer, DJ and artist Metro Boomin took the stage wearing Oakley Ellipse. Team Oakley athletes, legends and the next generation shaping sports culture were also in attendance.
Fifty years is a milestone, and Oakley is just getting started. With the incredible innovations above, the future is already in motion: Here’s to the next 50!
