Apple is a Fashion Brand

One of my friends has said Apple is a fashion brand many times and it always made sense–but it never quite set in until yesterday.

What you see above is an image of the newly-unveiled iPhone Pocket (here's their newsroom article). It may seem like a strange product – and it somewhat is – but there is a back story to it. In October 26, 2004, Apple released the iPod Sock.

This "revolutionary new product", as Jobs was quoted while introducing it, was just a protective case for your iPod. The were relatively popular and remain a fun part of Apple's history. The iPod Sock was sadly discontinued in September 2012.

Topic switch (but still related to the post)! Issey Miyake was a Japanese luxury-fashion designer. He is known in the Apple community for being the one who designed Steve Jobs' characteristic black turtleneck (something like this one).

The iPhone Pocket is a special edition collaboration between Apple and Issey Miyake's studio. The Pocket is described in the Apple Store listing as being "inspired by the concept of 'a piece of cloth'". The pocket is made of a 3-D knitted construction and is somewhat stretchy.

My speculation is there are very few people who will buy this, but they are leaning into nostalgia for both the iPod Sock and Steve Jobs. It is a rather unique product in Apple's lineup, but not the first time they have done something with a luxury brand (see Apple Watch Hermès)

If you want one for your iPhone, (only iphones between the 8 and the latest ones are compatible) they will be available for purchase on November 14 so set your calendars. The short one is $15o and the long one is $230.

This post was originally written before they were available to purchase. They became available this morning and they are already sold out. Apparently I was wrong.