Oakley Revived Its Leather (!) Sunglasses
In 1998, Oakley’s signature leather sunglasses left their mark on nineties pop culture and now, more than twenty-five years later, the eyewear label’s most disruptive design is finally returning to mankind.
The MUZM Mars X-Metal Leather, as they are officially titled, were created in the early nineties as a response to Michael Jordan who asked the brand to create something that would turn heads.
At the time, the release of Mars represented a monumental step for Oakley and instantly saw it become a part of the cultural zeitgeist.
To produce the MUZM Mars X-Metal Leather was no easy task. In fact, it took a six-ton generator with 425,000 watts of power to push the five-axis machining that maintained a .0005 inch precision to create the extraterrestrial X-Metal frame.
With a complex process and radical design technology, Mars was produced for six short years, but its time-bending legacy now lives on.
“Bonding science and art around one concept was how we first landed on MARS,” said Brian Takumi, Oakley VP, Brand Soul and Creative. “As the 90s ramped up, the piece defined a moment in culture, appearing on the silver screen to basketball players.”
“Its futuristic design was ahead of its time, defying the era it’s brought into. With the imminent arrival of our 50th anniversary in 2025, bringing it back from our archives and our DNA, MARS is just one of the portals set to expanding the Oakleyverse.”
Utilizing the same cutting-edge technology that produces complex metal parts for rocket engines, the MARS X-Metal Leather is built with a direct metal laser sintering process where high-powered lasers melt the intricate X-Metal powder.
The level of technical skill and artistry needed to create such a mad-scientist masterpiece comes from countless days spent meticulously planning and applying only the highest quality of craftsmanship to each and every frame.
MARS X-Metal Leather, which officially drops on November 14, is and always has been a true alien in the world of eyewear. Its identifiable iconic beauty does not see the need for overt branding because, well, Oakley lets the sunglasses themselves do the talking — and rightly so!
