If you’re of a certain vintage in the Apple ecosystem, you almost certainly remember the iPod Sock. Debuting in 2004, it was a set of six colorful, knitted cotton sleeves for the then-dominant iPod. It was simple, a little absurd, and, at $29, a quirky hit that felt unmistakably Apple. It was, in many ways, the company’s first real “wearable.”

Well, two decades later, the spirit of the Sock is back. But this time, it’s had a serious high-fashion glow-up.

Apple has just announced the iPhone Pocket, a new limited-edition accessory born from a collaboration with the legendary Japanese fashion house ISSEY MIYAKE. Forget the simple cotton of 2004; this is a 3D-knitted, stretchy pocket designed not just for an iPhone but also for AirPods and a few other small daily items.

A piece of cloth, a piece of history

At first glance, the iPhone Pocket is a minimalist, ribbed, elastic textile. It’s elongated, forming a strap that Apple says can be worn handheld, tied onto a bag, or even worn directly on the body. Its open-knit structure is designed to fully enclose the iPhone while still allowing you to glimpse the display through the fabric—a move that screams fashion over hardcore protection.

But the real story here is the collaboration. The design was led by Yoshiyuki Miyamae, the design director of ISSEY MIYAKE. He described the accessory as being inspired by the concept of “a piece of cloth,” a philosophy central to the brand’s identity.

This isn’t just designer-speak. Miyamae is a proponent of ISSEY MIYAKE’s revolutionary “A-POC” (A Piece of Cloth) system, a manufacturing process that uses computer programming to create seamless 3D-knitted garments from a single thread, minimizing waste and revolutionizing tailoring. This iPhone Pocket is, quite literally, a piece of that design legacy.

The collaboration explores “the joy of wearing an iPhone in your own way,” Miyamae said, and it’s available in a color palette created to “mix and match” with all current iPhone models.

The turtleneck connection

If the ISSEY MIYAKE name rings a bell in the halls of Cupertino, it should. This collaboration is a deeply meaningful nod to Apple’s own history.

The fashion house’s founder, the late Issey Miyake, was a close personal friend of Steve Jobs. As the story goes, Jobs visited Japan in the 1980s and was fascinated by the simple, elegant uniforms worn by employees at Sony, which Miyake had designed.

Jobs decided he wanted a similar uniform for Apple employees. He commissioned Miyake to design a vest, but upon presenting the idea back in California, Jobs was, in his own words, “booed off the stage.” The individualistic Apple culture would have none of it.

Undeterred, Jobs kept the friendship and the concept for himself. He asked Miyake to design a personal uniform, and the result was the iconic black mock-turtleneck that would become synonymous with Jobs and his legendary keynote presentations. Jobs reportedly owned hundreds of them.

This new iPhone Pocket, then, is more than just an accessory. It’s the closing of a design loop, a partnership decades in the making that finally brings the two brands together officially.

How to get one

As you’d expect from a collaboration of this magnitude, the iPhone Pocket is a limited-edition release.

It will be available starting this Friday, November 14, on Apple’s online store in the following countries:

• France
• Greater China
• Italy
• Japan
• Singapore
• South Korea
• The UK
• The U.S.

It will also be sold in person at 10 flagship Apple Store locations worldwide, including:

• Apple Regent Street in London
• Apple SoHo in New York
• Apple Ginza in Tokyo

This is Apple leaning further than ever into its status as a luxury fashion item. It’s a collectible, a conversation starter, and a piece of wearable tech history that bridges the gap between a quirky $29 sock and a legendary black turtleneck.