The defining performance of an iconic — and tragically short — career, Nirvana's MTV Unplugged in New York is still considered among the best live performances ever recorded. Now you can own a piece of this historic set with Kurt Cobain's Unplugged Cardigan. Made by the brand Manhattan, it's a vintage green blend of acrylic, mohair and Lycra in medium, with a five-button front closure and two front pockets, one of which has a burn hole and some discoloration that does nearly as much to prove its authenticity as the included certificate.
FIRST SEEN IN UNCRATE MAGAZINE — During World War II, the U.S. Navy commissioned Charles Eames to create a lightweight leg splint to replace the heavy, unwieldy metal splints of the period. A forerunner for the influential work that Eames would later bring to the furniture industry, this sculptural solution is now regarded as a piece of practical art.
We've already told you how Oakley got into the sunglass business with Eyeshades. Now we're diving back into the metal briefcase of company historian Mike Bell for a look at another iconic Oakley product: Razor Blades. Seeing even wider success than the Eyeshades, 'Blades and their spiritual successor M Frame were a staple of late '80s and '90s sports, thanks to their sleek designs and fantastic visual clarity.
That clarity comes from an innovation the company calls Iridium lens coating. Going far beyond the colorful reflective look that it spawned, this new coating balanced light transmission and reduced glare, and was quickly adopted by early Oakley wearer and three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond. By the middle of the '90s, these lenses could be seen on the face of nearly every cyclist at the event, and they continue to be used today.
Everything wasn't perfect straight out of the gate, however. Remaining flexible, the company continued to refine the design — and not just at their headquarters. Heading into a key match, an Oakley-backed tennis pro complained that the lens went too far down on their face, uncomfortably rubbing their cheekbones. So Oakley changed it. On site. They shaved the bottom of the lens down to make a better fit for their athlete, and the change was so successful, it made it into the finished product.
Like the Eyeshades, you're not likely to get your hands on the vintage pair of Razor Blades we saw without committing a number of felonies, but the new Heritage Collection 'Blades can be yours without fear of police involvement. They're available in a variety of lens and frame color combinations, and as thanks for your law-abiding ways, Oakley will even throw in both straight and "trigger" shaped earstems, as well as a guitar pick, a collectible pin, and a sticker — and if you can't remember seeing Oakley stickers back in the day, you obviously weren't paying attention.
Presented by Oakley. Watch Oakley's story of disruptive design, narrated by Kevin Spacey, here.
If you're like most of us, you were probably introduced to Oakley via their casual Frogskins, or perhaps the M-Frame glasses that seemed ubiquitous among MLB players of the '90s. But the Oakley Eyeshades came first. From his garage in 1980, where he was using a new material called Unobtainium to make motocross grips that actually increased grip when exposed to moisture, Oakley founder Jim Jannard decided to make a radical new motorcross goggle design with a later-patented cylindrical-shaped lens. Next on his list? Sunglasses.
Jannard used the same single-lens design from his goggles for the new shades, along with the Unobtainium technology, guaranteeing a secure fit. The lenses themselves were made from an optically-pure synthetic material called Plutonite that was lightweight, boasted stout impact resistance, and filtered out 100% of all UV. If all that sounds familiar, it's because the company still relies on the material today. The Eyeshades also sported innovations like non-slip hydrophilic nosepieces and adjustable earstems.
Launched in 1984, American cyclist Greg LeMond was one of the first to adopt the new Oakley Eyeshades, a fact made more interesting because most Tour de France cyclists shunned eye protection at the time. Following LeMond's second-place finish in the 1985 tour, the glasses became must-have equipment for a host of other riders, cementing Eyeshades as an icon of sport sunglasses. From there, a stampede of other athletes and weekend warriors joined the Oakley bandwagon.
While you can't buy an original pair of Eyeshades — the ones we photographed live at Oakley HQ, inside the metal briefcase of company historian and former motocross rider Mike Bell — you can now pick up a collectors edition of these historic sunglasses, complete with "2014" inside the frame, improved nose pad constructions and two sets of earstems.
Presented by Oakley. Watch Oakley's story of disruptive design, narrated by Kevin Spacey, here.
