Famed designer Marc Newson is joining his BFF Jony Ive to serve as part of Ive’s famed design team, reports Vanity Fair, filling a hole at Apple vacated by Steve Jobs: someone brilliant enough for Ive to bounce ideas off.
Ive and Newson have been close friends for years, but rather than joining him at the mothership, Newson plans to still live in the U.K. where he’s earned fame as an industrial for working on projects for Ford, Nike, Qantas Airways, but he’ll make frequent trips to Cupertino.
Jony Ive had the following to say about Apple’s new hire:
“Marc is without question one of the most influential designers of this generation. He is extraordinarily talented. We are particularly excited to formalize our collaboration as we enjoy working together so much and have found our partnership so effective.”
Jony and Marc last collaborated on a charity auction for U2 that included gold Apple EarPods and a custom red Mac Pro. No word on if Newson has helped out on the iWatch project, but it probably doesn’t hurt that he’s been designing luxury watches since the 80’s. Newson told Vanity Fair he’s ready to get to work:
“I’m full of admiration and respect for the extraordinary design work that has been produced by Jony and the team at Apple,” Newson said. “My close friendship with Jony has not only given me a unique insight into that process, but the opportunity to work together with him and the people that have been responsible. I am enormously proud to join them.”
Apple’s hiring of Newson is the latest in a string of high profile hires in both fashion, wearables, and entertainment. Newson joins an all-star cast of Angela Ahrendts, Jimmy Iovine, Ben Shaffer from Nike, Dr. Dre, and Yves Saint Laurent’s Paul Deneve. Apple hasn’t released an official announcement of the hiring, but we’ll likely hear something by the time Tim Cook takes the stage on September 9th.
