Country: California, U.S.A.
Founded: Geoff Fox, 1974
Art director: Peter Fox
Logo design: Bob Baptiste
One of the most successful brands of the MX2000 era is Fox racing, which was among the most prolific brands, and would continuously struggle with its competitors for the number one spot of motocross gear designers. The business started out by selling motorbike and motocross related supplies, with a notable breakthrough being their shock absorber called the “fox shock”, which they developed within the company, a collaboration between Geoff Fox and his brother. The shock absorber was a commercial success, and allowed the business to expand. One of the ideas Geoff Fox had to increase credibility for the business and increase sales was to sponsor a team of motocross racers, and in order to sponsor the team, they had to supply them with Fox branded racing gear, which is how the development into a lifestyle brand began.
One of the first notable pieces that Fox racing created, which was their zebra print pants, worn by the motocross athlete Rick Johnson in 1988. At the time, the zebra print pants were the most expressive piece of gear on the market, and were a huge gamble by the company, which in the end managed to pull off the crazy design. The zebra pants actually managed to change the market, moving the whole industry towards an even bolder era of graphic design. With the zebra pants, and a collection of similar successful designs combined with a roster of esteemed athletes, Fox racing was seen as an undisputed leader in cutting edge style by the end of the 1980s.
A big step forwards not only for Fox Racing, but also for motocross culture in general was the introduction of the X-Games in 1995, which is a series of action sports events sponsored by ESPN, an American sports broadcasting network. According to Pete Fox, the introduction of the X-games was integral to changing the culture surrounding motocross, and shifting it away from the historically negative connotations of motorcycling culture in the United States, towards an exciting extreme sport with a strong subculture.
By the end of the 1990s, Fox Racing was the biggest and most prolific MX brand, which also allowed for improvements in the design process. The developement and designing was all moved in-house, with a new deparment being created for just making sample products and patterns, which in turn allowed for total control of the design process. Patterns could be made in-house, instead of having to send designs to manufacturers abroad, who then had to interpret the design and make patterns based on that interpretation.
Fox racing 1974–1989◥
Fox racing in 1990s◥
The Untold Story of How Fox Racing Became the Biggest Name in Motocross◥
Fox racing sticker, 1991
Fox racing sticker, 1991
Fox racing sticker, 1991
Country: California, U.S.A.
Founded: Mark Simo, Brian Simo, Boris Said, 1989
Art director: David Bailey (?)
Logo design: David Bailey (?)
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No Fear ad detail, 2001
No Fear logo, ca 2000
No Fear decal, ca 2000
Country: Italy, U.S.A.
Founded: Remo Berlese, 1978 & Jim Hale (AXO USA)
Art director: Jim Hale (?)
Logo design: ?
Initially, Axo Sports was in the business of manufacturing boots for other brands, with early clients being Fox Racing and O'neal, specializing in manufacturing quailty and combining leather with moulded plastic components. The long term goal however was to be a stand alone manufacturer of MX gear and apparel, which was achieved in 1984 with the launch of AXO Sport-America thanks to the relationships built while manufacturing products for other american brands.
From the early nineties onward, Axo Sport really started to advance the visual design of their collections, stearing away from the generic memphis style 80s aesthetic towards a wilder, more authentic MX2000 aesthetic. This can be seen from the 1991 collection, as exemplified by the Comp 3 cotton jersey, which logobombed the axo logo on the chest, arms and back with overlayed typography, all in a unifrom bold color palette.
The "golden age" for Axo lasted until around 1997, when the owner of AXO USA started selling stocks from the company, apparently having lost interest in the brand. In 1998, 50% of the company was sold to Bruno Zago.
Axo Sport in the eighties◥
Axo Sport in the nineties◥
Godspeed! Jim Hale 1954–2018◥
Axo logo, 1992
Axo sports logo, 1997
Axo sports yellow gear ad, 1997