It was revealed last October that Apple would be sponsoring this year’s Met Gala, with Jony Ive serving as a co-chair of the event. Now, Ive, along with Tim Cook, has sat down for an interview with fashion outlet Vogue. In the interview, the two Apple executives discuss the company’s recent foray into the fashion industry, the spaceship-like Campus 2, and more.
Cook likens Apple’s Campus 2 to the design of any of its products, as does the project’s architect Norman Foster. “The building is an echo of the ethos of Apple, which designs artifacts that, though they fulfill all sorts of functions, exist abstractly in their own right,” Foster explained while noting that the idea originated back in 2009 from a series of “rather amusing phone conversations” with Steve Jobs.
“There was from the outset a concern with breaking down barriers,” Foster explained. “The sheets of glass are so long, so clear, that you don’t feel that there is a wall between you and the landscape. And at the same time the building is an echo of the ethos of Apple, which designs artifacts that, though they fulfill all sorts of functions, exist abstractly in their own right.”
Cook also compares the design of its products and upcoming new headquarters to fashion, explaining that design is just as important to its products as it is in fashion. “In what we do, design is crucial, as it is in fashion,” he said.
Jony Ive went on to explain how much more personal technology has become over recent years, both relating to the iPhone and Apple Watch. The personalization of technology really started with the release of the first iPhone in 2007, Ive noted, explaining that prior to it, everything was too big to carry around.
Apple deepened its ties in the fashion industry last year by releasing the Apple Watch Hermès, which recently expanded in availability to the Apple Online Store. “That watch is the result of two temperamentally, philosophically aligned companies deciding to make something together,” Ive stated.
Finally, Ive touched on his role as co-chair of the upcoming Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, which will be themed around “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.” Apple is sponsoring the event, while Ive is serving as a co-chair alongside Taylor Swift.
Ive sat down with a pair of news outlets following the announcement of the Met Gala, explaining Apple’s motivation to sponsor the event. Apple has been deepening its interest in the fashion industry since the launch of the Apple Watch. The device was available at launch from a variety of high-end fashion retail locations, while it was also showcased by Vogue two separate times. The 2016 Met Gala will take place on May 2nd.
