Brain Dead and Oakley Launch "Oakley Factory Team"

Brain Dead and Oakley have joined forces for a sneaker collaboration, reviving a fan favorite from the sportswear icon with an added twist from the L.A. based label. The announcement also coincides with the launch of the Oakley Factory Team, a new branch of the brand focused on research and development. The collaboration will seek to "expand upon Oakley’s rich history of innovation, experimentation and disruption by extracting the DNA of archived products and integrating it into new models via Brain Dead’s design matrix," Oakley said in a press release.

For the pair's debut, Oakley has reintroduced the Flesh model, which initially released in the early 2000s. The shoe harkens back to an iconic period for Oakley, when the brand's forward-thinking and fluid designs envisioned an alien future. The partnership comes at the perfect time, seeing as the Flesh shoes have recently been making the rounds across Instagram's various mood board pages.

Brian Takumi, VP, Brand Soul and Creative at Oakley said: “Like anything, there’s always going to be the original. And at the same time, there is always an opportunity to evolve. That creative exploration of pulling something rare from the archives and reimagining what it could be for today is a process we are thrilled to be doing with Brain Dead. At Oakley, we are equal parts scientists and engineers as we are designers.
So, with every product, each element is carefully considered. The result is a fresh interpretation of Flesh with a neo-futuristic aesthetic that symbolizes evolution and progression.”

The collaboration gives the Flesh a modern upgrade, with the original sole now including a phylon layer for lighter day-to-day wear. The addition of oval gels compliments the implied direction of the midsole, propelling the design further into the future. The shoe is comes in two colorways, Ice and Lime/Blue, each retailing for $165. The collaboration is available April 19th, via Brain Dead's website and and in select stores.

An additional release of the Flesh shoes in Sand/Blue will be available via Brain Dead as well as select retailers on May 3rd. This edition forgoes the gel additions, staying true to the original 2000s design.