Creative collective Brain Dead and sunglasses brand Oakley’s joint experimental division is definitely one of the more lowkey collaborations of this year. Named Oakley Factory Team, this new brand’s vision is to “take Oakley’s rich history of innovation and experimentation and step further by integrating the DNA of archived products into new models via Brain Dead’s design and marketing matrix”. Wow.

Since their conception in April 2022, they set out towards their goal of reintroducing Oakley’s footwear line to the world in earnest, recreating 3 designs of Oakley’s previously-archived “Flesh” silhouette. Named “Blue/Brown/Lime”, “Sand/Blue” and “Ice” (pictured below), all three prototypes sold out quickly after launch, and the innovative footwear line has since faded faded into the background… until now.

The word on the street is that Oakley Factory Team will be making a comeback this Fall/Winter 2022 season with three new Flesh releases. Based on leaks, we might even be witnessing an alteration of the silhouette, which is unsurprising given that the initial launch already featured three subtly different shapes.

Compared to the April models, leaked photos show stamped polka-dot holes replacing the Yeezy Boost 700-like rubber streaks that previously ran along the toebox and heel counter. The new silhouette looks to be much more open, featuring patches of exposed mesh at the inner heel and top of the upper. Finally, due to the new open-top and mesh upper, the Oakley logo that previously featured behind the toe is now shifted to the outer heel.

Leaked images via @le.syndrome

Overall, the new silhouette looks slightly more like an open sandal compared to an enclosed shoe, yet another indication of Oakley Factory Team’s continued experimentation. Interestingly, Converse’s experimental footwear lines seem to be moving in the same direction, with their shift from the enclosed Aeon Active CX to the shoe-clog-sandal hybrid that is the Sponge Crater CX. Coincidence?

Not much is known about this upcoming Flesh collection besides that it is expected to release in Fall/Winter 2022 season. As previous Flesh models retailed for US$165 on Brain Dead and Dover Street Market’s online stores, we can expect the new shoes to show up for a similar retail price across even more stores. More updates will follow very soon, so stay tuned!

In other sneaker-related news, check out END. Clothing’s pottery-inspired take on the adidas UltraBOOST OG.