Over The Top — Sapphire Iridium

The Over The Top is one of the most radical sunglasses Oakley ever produced. Released in 2000 at the height of the brand's "Mad Science" era, the design abandoned the conventional arms-and-frame structure entirely — the wearer puts them on by sliding the curved bridge over the head, leaving the lenses floating in front of the eyes with nothing touching the ears.

The concept was engineered with sprinters, not stylists. Oakley consulted directly with athletes through the development process; the over-the-head structure was designed to eliminate the pressure points and bounce that conventional eyewear suffers at running speed. They made their global debut at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, worn by Trinidad & Tobago sprinter Ato Boldon during the Men's 4×100m relay semi-final — the moment that turned the Over The Top into an icon of the new millennium.

Frames are moulded in O Matter, Oakley's proprietary nylon-infused plastic — the same material used on the Gascan. The metallic finish is FMJ+ (Full Metal Jacket Plus), Oakley's signature electroplated coating. Lenses are Plutonite with Iridium mirror coating. The model ran in the catalogue from 2000 to 2004 before being retired; it has been reissued briefly since but original-era pairs remain the collector's reference.