On May 7th Apple hosted their Let Loose Event. Every year Apple introduces the possible new technology for that year. An OLED display iPad Pro was introduced this year. Apple CEO Tim Cook wore a one-of-a-kind Nike Air Max 1′ 86″ “Made on iPad” pair of sneakers. This perfectly displayed the digital fashion capabilities of the upcoming device.
Every year apple hosts an event to unveil the updates to their new models of the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watches. This year on May 7th it was named the Let Loose Event. The new technology presented at these events usually drops later in the year. The new 2024 iPad Pro has an OLED resolution. This makes it the tablet with the crispest resolution on the market.
The announcement of the new tablet was not what caught everyone’s attention. What stole the show was the one-of-a-kind custom Nike Air Max 1′ 86″ sneakers. CEO Tim Cook wore the “Made on iPad” sneakers during the event.
Hype Beast describes the sneakers saying “The bespoke sneakers featured off-white mesh body and sole. Colorful speckles and unique stitching patterns mimicked the lines of an Apple Pencil Sketch and accented the shoe. There is an embroidered rainbow surrounding the well-known Nike swoosh symbol. This will mimic brush strokes you can create on the new iPad Pro. On the tongue of the shoe in handwritten wording, it says ‘Made on iPad.'”
There is some unfortunate news for sneakerheads though. This shoe is not planning on hitting the shelves. It will remain a one-of-a-kind shoe design for Tim Cook and the remembrance of this launch.
Apple and Nike Collaborations
Apple and Nike have worked on projects together in the past making the Nike + gadgets that work with iPod. In 2006, Nike and Apple partnered to bring the world of sports and music together for iPod Nano.
The world of athletic fashion design had a whole new purpose when connected with a technology brand. The Nike+ iPod Sport Kit was a wireless system that allowed Nike+ footwear to connect with your devices to give you the greatest personal running and workout experiences.
Little did both companies know that collaboration with athletic wear and technology would affect the way that people could design Nike sneakers in the future.
Future of Sneakers on iPad
Trend Hunter laid out some very practical industry implications that the iPad can have on the world of footwear design.
The first would be footwear manufacturing. The new method of using tablets for designing and producing custom sneakers could change the traditional footwear manufacturing process. Nike has a service named Nike By You where with a simple tap of a few buttons on your Apple screen can co-create a pair of your own versions of Nike’s iconic sneaker designs. The manufacturing collaboration can also change in the shop with the help of tablets.
The second would be Tech-Garment Integration. According to Trend Hunters, “The convergence of technology and fashion through iPad-made sneakers signifies a potential growth area in merging digital tools with garment production.”
And lastly the fashion retail industry. Partnerships between fashion/athletic brands and popular tech companies like Apple and Nike allow opportunities for retailers. They can join in on the exclusive edition product trends like we saw in the “Made on iPad” sneakers for the Let Loose Event.
Future of Fashion Design on iPad
The Let Loose Event Collaboration helped showcase the iPad Pros’ potential for professional design work. The tablet allows designers to have portability, and access to collaborative tools, taking notes, and sketching ideas. It also allows professional-grade design software, multitasking features, color accuracy, and cost efficiency, according to toolify.ai.
Fashion Industry Insiders tell The Telegraph (via Patently Apple) that Apple’s well-known products are altering how fashion designers and enthusiasts shop for clothing. In the past, we used to see fashion photos on our home laptops and work desktops. This approach, which used to serve as the primary screen for viewing and sharing images with collaborators, has switched to iPad, which has the highest resolution.
More individuals rely on images that they view on their Apple devices while making judgments on fashion decisions as designers and photographers than any other device currently.
As technology is coming to the forefront in the fashion industry, we are seeing what used to be pencil and paper design/art becoming digital. According to Apple insider, Apps like FiftyThree’s Paper are used by designers for their sketching. Additionally, fashion GPS is used. According to the app’s developers, 92% of fashion editors use it for logistics management.
With the help of Apple technology and its updated resolution, there are great changes in the fashion industry. With the help of technology, fashion show organizers and designers are able to sell their products through apps to fashion lovers. One of these apps is Top Shop. Justin Cooke is the chief marketing officer for the company. Cooke says that reality is bringing the future into the now.
Gen-Z and Advanced Technology
Gen-Z will be the first generation to enter the workforce with advanced technology already present. We will also be the first generation that grew up with this technology and knows how to comfortably use it for our work purposes.
Being familiar with the technology will allow newly hired fashion enthusiasts to not only be able to educate those of older generations in the industry but will also allow this generation to work independently. Freelance work is taking off.
With the advance of technology, Gen-Z will be able to work independently to create a sneaker just as popular using their iPads to network, manufacture, collaborate, and build their own sites to sell their designs to those that they have marketed their fashion efforts to.
Overall, Apple has paved the way not only for other brands such as Nike to influence people but is allowing Gen-Z to create their own designs and reach their own audience all from one device.
