Oakley Announces Custom JAWBONE(TM) Eyewear in Tour de France

Oakley Announces Custom JAWBONE(TM) Eyewear in Tour de France

Designs Envisioned by Riders Will Be Available to Public

FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Oakley, Inc. today announced updates regarding the 2009 Tour de France and the concurrent worldwide release of JAWBONE(TM), a revolutionary breakthrough in performance eyewear. Details were provided on specific color combinations of JAWBONE crafted for Tour riders who will rely on the product's new design technologies in competition. The company noted that the Oakley Custom Program (OCP) will allow fans to salute their heroes by selecting similar component color combinations.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090630/LA39942)
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080828/LATH022LOGO)



"'Science wrapped in art' has been our aspiration from day one. The Tour de France presents a perfect platform for us to unleash our new custom JAWBONE eyewear," said Colin Baden, president of Oakley. "Our Tour riders are absolute originals, each with a unique style and approach to life. The Oakley Custom Program lets them take this unbelievable optical instrument called JAWBONE and make it their own by choosing colors -- not just for the main frame but for four component categories as well. Performance becomes art, and with JAWBONE eyewear included in our custom program, consumers will have the same freedom to build their own unique version of this innovation," Baden concluded.

Oakley riders George Hincapie, Mark Cavendish and Oscar Pereiro chose Pearl White for the frame color and White for the stem sleeves of their custom JAWBONE designs. For the jaw component that locks the interchangeable lenses into place, Hincapie picked Team Yellow while Cavendish went with Polished White and Pereiro opted for Pearl White. A "bolt" component of Oakley's new SwitchLock(TM) Technology turns science into an accent of style, and both Hincapie and Cavendish selected Pearl White for this part of the design while Pereiro went with Blue. Hincapie completed his custom frame with an Oakley icon in Gunmetal. Cavendish chose Yellow for the icon while Pereiro completed his red/white/blue theme with Team Red.

Oakley rider Thor Hushovd selected an Infra Red frame with a Team Blue jaw, an Anodized Red bolt, a White icon and White stem sleeves. A similar combination was chosen by Amael Moinard, who varied the design by selecting Matte white for the jaw color. Cyril Dessel styled JAWBONE by highlighting a Silver frame with White stem sleeves. He chose Polished Black and Matte Black for the jaw and bolt, and finished the original creation with an Oakley icon in Black.

Beginning in September 2009, the Oakley Custom Program will give all customers the freedom to create their own JAWBONE color combinations, even letting them match the original style of their favorite Tour athletes. Customers should visit Oakley.com for further information.

JAWBONE features an interchangeable lens design that helps athletes keep up with changing light conditions. Oakley put its finest technologies into JAWBONE, creating a true instrument of performance with unbeatable optical clarity, durability, convenience and comfort.

Tour fans will be able to follow the race with Twitter updates at Oakley.com. New images of Oakley racers will be available daily, and members of the media may acquire these pictures through the Oakley Public Relations contacts listed in the header of this release.

Visit Oakley.com for more information on the company's lifestyle and sport performance innovations, as well as updates on the 2009 Tour de France.

About Oakley, Inc.

Established in 1975 and headquartered in Southern California, Oakley is one of the leading sports brands in the world. The holder of more than 600 patents, Oakley is continually seeking problems, solving them with inventions and wrapping those inventions in art. This philosophy has made Oakley one of the most iconic and inimitable brands on the market. Oakley is famed for its insuperable lens technologies such as High Definition Optics(R) (HDO(R)) which is incorporated into all of Oakley sun and prescription eyewear, and goggles. Oakley has extended its leadership position as the world's leading sports eyewear brand into its apparel, footwear and accessories collections. Laser focused on the consumer, Oakley has both Men's and Women's product lines that target Sports Performance, Active and Lifestyle consumers. Oakley is a subsidiary of Luxottica Group (NYSE: LUX; MTA: LUX). Additional information is available at www.oakley.com.



Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090630/LA39942
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080828/LATH022LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN4
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Oakley, Inc.


CONTACT: Public Relations, Brianne Bates, +1-949-829-6358, bbates@oakley.com, or Diane Thibert, +1-949-672-6888, dthibert@oakley.com, both of Oakley, Inc.

Web Site: http://www.oakley.com/