The year 1986 marked a transition in the history of Apple Computers. They weren't far off the success of the first Macintosh computer, but visionary founder and CEO Steve Jobs had just been ousted by the company's board. Like many of us who just get out of a long relationship, Apple made some... questionable choices. Most questionable of which being The Apple Collection.
The origin of The Apple Collection began after then CEO Steve Jobs visited the offices of Sony and noted the employees were all wearing SONY branded apparel. Deciding something similar was needed at Apple, Jobs commissioned Issey Miyake to mockup some designs. Unfortunately for Jobs, the board fired him before his little pet project got off the ground, but that didn't stop the brass at Apple from diving headlong into his early idea. And thus, The Apple Collection was born.
The Apple Collection wasn't too much different from other clothing catalogs at the time. It featured such 1980s classics as oversized sweatshirts, neon tracksuits, and of course, an Apple branded windsurfing board, because why not?
Surprising literally no one, The Apple Collection sold pretty poorly. There are no concrete numbers on exact sales numbers that were released to the public, but judging by the lack of resale items available on the web for these, we're probably talking fewer than 300 orders.
It's ironic, because if these were around today things like the Apple sneakers would probably sell like crazy. Could this be another case of Jobs being ahead of his time? Maybe he knew baggy sweaters with pastel colors would be in vogue again.
If you can find any of this stuff on the web, be prepared to spend a pretty penny. The Apple sneakers alone have known to go for more than $500 online. Until Apple decides to get back into the fashion game, it looks like this brief attempt is the only joy we’ll get, at least until they resurrect Steve Jobs.
P.S. In a fun twist of fate, the original designer Jobs met with, Issey Miyake, went on to design his iconic black turtleneck.