BRANDIT

STEVE JOBS / AA : PLAIN AND SIMPLE

I’m beginning to think Steve Jobs has more to do with American Apparel’s success and “cool factor” than Dov Charney. After all, who was it who introduced stylistic minimalism and bare utility to both America’s mainstream / alternative communities? Who was it who told us that less choices meant more freedom and intuitive simplicity begets clarity and efficiency? Apple and AA share the same ideals. Sometimes, Jobs insisted, one powerful button (hoodie) is worth more than an entire remote control (wardrobe). The kids are starting to agree.

Jobs’s wardrobe itself could be considered an early adoption of AA style. Jobs stripped down to his late period / classic look in 1999, losing the buttons and ties to commit to (like his products) one simple idea : black turtleneck, blue jeans, New Balance sneakers. This transformation took place in an era of ugly excess. The late 90’s were not a period of clarity in American pop culture. Spiky hair, baggy jeans, and rap-metal where sadly all too in. The culture and style were scattered and messy. Steve Jobs showed us the light.  Post-iPod, everybody wanted to look like this, simple, sleek, minimal yet bold:

If our style could be reduced to one or two colors and we vaguely resembled a silhouette, we were doing alright. American Apparel hand delivered this style to hip locations around the world at the precise time we were ready to buy into it.

Does AA = the iPod commercial look?

Will the acceptance of minimalism fade once Jobs is no longer able to carry the torch?

Are we living in the glory days of tech / fashion simplicity, or is this just the beginning of the sleek future people have always predicted?

Are we already sick of naked functionality / is the movement losing its impact?

I’m starting to think that Steve Jobs represents aesthetic innovation more than technological innovation. Will Steve Jobs go down as the greatest artist of the era? Why or why not?