The History of Oxbow

Ever since its creation in 1985 with the partnership of Fabrice Valéri, a surfer of visionary genius, and Isabelle Cachot, a highly talented artistic director, OXBOW has been the vector of a unique mindset on the rider sports scene, as demonstrated in each and every one of its collections. From the outset, OXBOW, located in Mérignac in the Bordeaux region, has always distinguished itself by its position as a technical and fashionable designer. It has become the leading non Anglo-Saxon brand in rider sports.

A unique rider sports experience since 1985
From its creation, the brand has capitalised at all levels on its basic premises where design combines creativity, originality, and technical expertise.
Thanks to its technical and graphic products, its legendary events and its reputed technical advisers, it rapidly became a benchmark brand in rider sports.
Oxbow products, by their styles, their colours and their cuts, have influenced successive generations all proud of displaying our Pads, our unique marking on the left shoulder of all our tops, the true signature of our products.
In addition to transmitting its notions of rider clothes to the rider community, Oxbow has become an established leader tin the field of sports marketing thanks to events which have written pages in the history of surf and the sponsorship of some of the world's greatest riders.

The famous stages of the World Longboard Championship, the various surf-masters, the soul and style which have marked whole generations.

Oxbow has always been a discoverer of new talent: Joel Tudor, Nat and Beau Young, Laird Hamilton, Jason Polakow, Duane Desoto, and many others...

More than a brand, Oxbow has over the years become a living legend, the source of dreams for generations. Our goal? Continuing to help the next generations to dream.. !

Oxbow is the vector of a unique mindset driven by accomplishing
and exceeding personal expectations in close communion
with the natural elements of water, wind and snow.

Where are Oxbow now? Click Here to find out


- Rider sports - the brand's benchmark world
The Oxbow riders, true flag-bearers of the rider culture, and the rider events organised by the brand, symbolise its commitment to rider sports. To communicate those genuine values, Oxbow has chosen to invest essentially in five sports: surfing, windsurfing, kite-surfing, snowboarding and skiing.
With each collection, on the strength of its R&D department, its designers and its credo "Me first and Not Me too", Oxbow offers products geared to the practice of and the spirit embodied by those sports. Oxbow products, developed for and with renowned technical consultants such as Laird Hamilton, Jason Polakow, Guerlain Chicherit and many others who bring their technical expertise and originality to the brands, have become a benchmark for rider sports.

Creativity as a value, style as a credo
Ever since its creation, Oxbow has been moving in a unique creative and graphic world enabling the brand to stand out from the crowd of its competitors.
Its « Four Flowers » logo and its label fitted to the left shoulder of each garment exemplify the intrinsic identity of the brand.
The original positioning of Oxbow is to be found above all in the unique cuts, prints and materials or its trend-setting products. Quality, originality and comfort are the key features in all its collections. To that end, each model, each print, each exclusive jacquard fabric is designed in-house, on the premises. Invention, exuberance and elegance are the essential ingredients used to satisfy an ever-growing clientele.

Travel as a means of expression
Our quest is to find wellness and personal fulfilment for which travel and exchange are the ideal places and means of expression, where rider sports bring the thrills and leave unforgettable memories.
Ever since our creation, our products and more generally our actions, through trips and events, have been the vector of this rider sport spirit to which we so happily refer as giving meaning to our daily life.

- Nature as the common denominator, mountains and oceans as playgrounds, curves as a means of expression:
Oxbow stands for meandering, recalling the curves traced by the elements in movement and by riders in action. The Oxbow community has always shown humility and respect for those fantastic playgrounds offered by the world's oceans and mountains. Our environmental commitment is today emphasised by our ecologically designed line "Naturally Committed".

A sharing, responsive mindset:
On the beaches, the mountain peaks, at the top of virgin snow slopes, in the office, wherever, Oxbow maintains that unique mindset, a subtle cocktail of humility, responsiveness and sharing that we have successfully instigated in just 20 years and for which our customers, all loyal to the brand, reward us every day.