OAKLEY SNOW DNA: PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

From 1975 in a Californian garage, Oakley has shaped over 50 years of vision, performance and culture. Since day one, the philosophy has been simple: design for the future, deliver to the present. That mindset was built by a Research & Development team born from the grit of BMX riders, shaping a design approach grounded in real-world testing, not theory. That philosophy lives today through athletes who move between surf, street and snow. 

Guided by athlete-led insights from those who live in the elements, Oakley turns innovation into art. Pioneering hundreds of patented lens technologies, from High Definition Optics® (HDO®) and XYZ Optics® to Prizm™ Lens Technology, enabling athletes to read terrain in any condition, and protection systems engineered for speed and impact. These didn’t just raise the standard; they changed the game. 

Oakley’s DNA in snow runs deep, rooted in the knowledge that when athletes can see better, they can perform better. This year, Oakley unveils a new era of innovation for its legacy of riders and community.  

THE PAST:  

Built on decades of rebellion, experimentation and athlete-driven design. Every breakthrough, every lens, and every moment in the elements comes from a history defined by riders who demanded more from their gear and more from their vision. That legacy sets the stage for what came before. At every heartbeat of snow innovation, Oakley consistently resets the standard of what a goggle is, how it works, and how it looks. A true tale of a core creed, “To satisfy the eye, the mind, and the heart.” 

The Ski Goggle - E Frame & L Frame 

In 1983, Oakley released its inaugural Ski Goggles: E frame & L frame. With a dual-lens design setting a new benchmark for clarity, protection and performance on the mountain, Oakley’s first snow goggle establishes a reputation for innovation. The lens, held in a perfect arc by the new frame design, provides minimum distortion and maximum vision. 

The L Frame was developed, offering all the benefits of the E Frame in a size that fits over prescription eyewear. 

Oakley Factory Lites / Eyeshades 

Oakley's optical legacy began where speed meets gravity: on the mountain. The first eyewear wasn't designed for sidewalks or Sunday drives. It was engineered for the fall line. 

The Eyeshade System was built with World Cup downhill in its DNA. Originally dubbed Factory Lites, the concept was deceptively simple: everything you wanted in a goggle and less. All the protection. All the optics. None of the bulk. No frame fighting your peripheral. No strap strangling your helmet. Strip it down. Speed it up. See more. 

What came next was a relentless application of one of Oakley's founding principles: Reimagine Everything. Because the moment you accept what exists, you stop creating what should. 

The A-Frame Era 

In the 1990s, Oakley changed the snow game forever with the A-Frame, the first ever injected snow toric lens goggle with High Definition Optics (HDO ®), setting new standards for performance and on-mountain culture. It remains one of Oakley’s most iconic silhouettes. 

Crowbar  

Reinventing the architecture of a snow goggle was no small task. The challenge: relieve pressure against the face without compromising optical clarity, visual acuity, or protection. The solution was Crowbar - a revolution in goggle design. 

Oakley engineered an outrigger system that relocated the stress points of the frame and strap to indirect anchor points outside the primary structure. The result was a goggle that floated against the face rather than gripped it. A new standard that reset the industry's understanding of how a goggle should be constructed. 

Canopy 

Optics isn't just about seeing accurately. It's about how much you can see. 

Polaric Ellipsoid lens geometry first appeared in A Frame. With Canopy, we expanded its view on the world. An oversized lens engineered for maximum field of view, injected with the most precise optics in the galaxy. Much like a fighter jet canopy, this voluminous structure redefined peripheral vision.  Once again, Oakley reset the industry standard. 

Oakley created a silhouette that forced the industry to change not only the way you look at goggles, but the way you look through them. 

Oakley Software 

In 1998, Oakley asked a simple question: why stop at the eyes? 

The answer arrived as Oakley Software, technical outerwear engineered with the same obsessive precision that redefined optics. The Ballistic and Shell Jackets weren't apparel. They were protection systems. Physics elevated to an artform, wrapped around the human form. 

The mission statement said everything: "Evolutionary Adaptation to Punishing Environments." 

This wasn't a brand extension. It was a logical expansion of a single, relentless idea: solve real problems for people who push limits. Satisfy the eye, the mind, and the heart. Design for the future, deliver to the present. 

Oakley didn't enter apparel. Oakley reinvented what apparel could be. 

THE PRESENT: 

This snow season, Oakley has unveiled innovations across apparel and goggles for enthusiasts and athletes to add to their kits.  

Flow Scape 

Precision-crafted to deliver the biggest field of view Oakley has ever created, Flow Scape redefines the potential of a goggle. Introducing Vision Rapt Face Foam and the latest Switchlock™ Technology, it unlocks a 60% larger field of view than previous designs, setting a new benchmark in performance, fit and clarity. 

Aura Collection 

Also debuting this year is the Aura Collection, apparel and eyewear created to honor the unseen forces that drive athletes, energy, intuition, resilience and focus. Each piece reflects the pulse and spirit that propel athletes long before they reach the starting gate. 

THE FUTURE:

The next chapter is already being written. Technologies debuting in 2026 will expand the Oakley SCAPE family and introduce new evolutions in helmet protection. Athlete-driven insights embedded in the performance kits point to a future defined by sharper clarity, deeper connection and limitless possibility. 

Oakley’s past set the standard. Its present pushes it forward to the future redefining possibility and shape the next era of performance.  

The Team Oakley R&D team of riders include:  

Taiga Hasegawa, Luca Harrington, Mac Forehand, Annika Morgan, Dusty Henricksen, Britt Richardson, Red Gerard, Hailey Langland, Judd Henkes, Mikaël Kingsbury 

Miro Tabanelli, Flora Tabanelli, Colby Stevenson, Rene Rinnekangas, Aleksander Kilde, Mikaela Shiffrin, Mark McMorris, Mathilde Gremaud, Oksana Masters, Cameron Spalding, Emeraude Maheux