The Apple sponsored 2016 Met Gala was held last night and in attendance was Tim Cook, Jony Ive, and Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs. In addition to delivering opening remarks for the event yesterday afternoon and serving as its co-chair, Jony Ive also sat down with fashion news outlet Business of Fashion to discuss the Met Gala’s “Manus x Machina” theme, as well as some more Apple-specific topics.
Apple’s decision to sponsor the 2016 Met Gala came as it was beginning to explore the fashion industry in a broader sense with Apple Watch. Speaking on this decision, Ive explained that even if Apple isn’t truly a fashion company, it is making products that are increasingly personal. The Apple executive noted that talking to people like Andrew Bolton, who is the Head Curator of the Costume Institute in New York, has been hugely informative in Apple’s shift to designing those more personal products.
Ive went on to explain that Apple has always had a “very singular approach” in designing products that people are familiar with:
“Regardless of whether we declare an interest in fashion or not, we are making products that are more and more personal… products that you wear and you wear every day. We’ve not done that before and we’ve got a lot to learn. Just talking to Andrew [Bolton] is hugely informative. I think we have always had a very clear and a very singular approach to how we design products that are more familiar to people, more established in terms of product categories. I think it’s very hard to have that same clarity and singularity when you’re not absolutely confident in your subject matter.”
Speaking on the actual Met Gala exhibit itself, Ive said that there was an overall “calm and serenity and gentleness” to it that highlighted the pieces themselves. Ive likened this to Apple’s philosophy of attempting to design in a way that it is solving problems that people didn’t even know existed. This is similar to a comment Tim Cook made speaking to Jim Cramer yesterday about Apple’s future. “We are going to give you things that you can’t live without that you just don’t know you need today,” Cook said.
Ultimately, Ive said the job of a designer is to solve problems and explore:
“There was a calm and serenity and gentleness to the overall exhibition that I thought provided a wonderful context to actually consider and think about the pieces that constituted the show. In our work, we’ve always tried to design in a way where you’re not aware of the problems that we’ve had to solve. That’s the job of the designer: to solve problems and explore, but not really drag you through what all the problems were. I was irritated to have to leave [the exhibit].”
Finally, Ive touched on the future of Apple Watch. While he wouldn’t get specific as to what Apple has in store for the product, he compared the advancement of the Watch technology to the advancement of the iPhone and iPod during its first few years of updates.
“It’s quite interesting that if you look back at the first generation of the iPod or the Phone — what happens in the next two, three, four years is dramatic. You’d be very surprised about some of the things you would absolutely assume that the first Phone did and it didn’t have. Of course, this is a new category for us, one that we think is such a natural one because we think in a very authentic way. It’s not us being opportunistic in the way our competitors are. It’s not us thinking, ‘Well, this is a growing category.’ That couldn’t be further from the truth.”
The Met Gala was attended by celebrities such as The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, and many more. While the event was not televised or live streamed, a few clips surfaced of Ive’s opening remarks. Those can be seen here.
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Sooooo, wait for Apple Watch 4?
most people waited for the iphone 3gs didn’t they? I’d say wait for apple watch 3.
People also waited for the iPad 3 (the new iPad, if you please)
We need more video interviews from Apple people. I don’t care much for text it’s boring.
He does have a point. I believe the first iPhone didn’t have an App Store, or third party Apps. Wasn’t the original idea to run mail, IM, and a web browser for everything else?
“phone, ipod, internet communications device.” Jobs said like 6 time on stage : p
Yeah and the camera only really took a big step forward with the 4S wasn’t it?
No notifications that pop up while using the iPhone, no app switcher (multitasking),… You weren’t even able to change your homescreen’s background :D It was just black. There are more things missing than you can imagine :D
Every time I read quotes from Jony, I keep hearing his warm and soothing voice… Am I the only one here?
It’s a good point regarding iPhone. My first iPhone was the 5C. Had I jumped on board with the 3GS I would still have wanted a camcorder and would have needed a pedometer.
I remember asking a friend who pulled out an iPhone 3GS if it was the iPhone or the iPod touch, as my Apple knowledge was so limited I couldn’t tell. Easy to go back and misremember the iPhone springing into being as the iPhone we all have now.
I remember back then plenty of people had Blackberrys and Nokias still, and this was 2011.
I think Ive and Cook are right about the watch, I’ve had mine from day one and become reliant on it, even without the so called ‘killer feature’. It does lots of little things very well. It makes the iPhone experience better. It will be very interesting to see future iterations of Watch.
I mountain bike quite a bit. And I run a lot (I have a 400km mountainous running race coming up) – so I bought a new watch to help me follow routes, a garmin fenix 3 hr. It’s much more ‘me’ really. It’s loaded with features for runners. It looks nice. It’s bullet proof. It lasts about a month on a charge or a week filled with gps runs…
…and still I can’t give up the Apple Watch!
So I run with both. I tell myself I have a navigation wrist and a communication wrist. I’m not sure I believe me.
For all that’s been said about Apple’s future prospects I still have great confidence in Jony :)
I remember going to the AT&T Store the day the first iPhone was released – with my Blackberry Bold – and playing with the iPhone saying, ‘ That’s it – No Thank You! My Bold slays that thing!”
Then it morphed into my steady companion (well, besides my wife) and I’ve never looked back, just ahead to the next new iPhone. Evolution over the years.
Ultimately, I think wearables needs to be defined more broadly than a watch. That’s using an old paradigm to explore new capabilities. I am certain none of us really knows long term what a wearable device will do.
Watches have zero attraction for me. Wearables still pique my curiosity
early times.
The company pill be be far better off when they rid themselves of Cook and this prima donna.
Yeah what has Ive ever done?!
He did a lot of great stuff when he had Jobs to say “no” to the idiotic things. Jobs is gone, Ive has run amok and Cook doesn’t care.