Here's How Issey Miyake Met And Created Steve Jobs' Iconic Black Turtlenecks

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' iconic turtleneck sweater has continued to make waves in pop culture and social media long after his death, and the man responsible for his signature look was Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake.

Jobs had asked Miyake, who died last week at the age of 84, to create the black turtlenecks so that he would have a professional uniform, according to an excerpt published by Gawker of Walter Isaacson's 2011 biography, "Steve Jobs."

Jobs met Miyake through Sony's former chairman Akio Morita in the early 1980s. The designer had created the uniforms of Sony's employees, which was a jacket made of rip-stop nylon with sleeves that could unzip to make it a vest, according to the book.

Jobs was inspired by how uniforms became a way of bonding workers to Sony and asked Miyake to design a vest for Apple.

"I came back with some samples and told everyone it would [be] great if we would all wear these vests. Oh man, did I get booed off the stage. Everybody hated the idea," Jobs recalled, according to the excerpt.

But while Apple employees disliked the idea of uniforms, it did not stop Jobs from wanting a uniform for himself because he liked the "convenience" it brought and its "ability to convey a signature style," the book said.

"So I asked Issey to make me some of his black turtlenecks that I liked, and he made me like a hundred of them," Jobs told the writer, according to the excerpt, before showing him a closet filled with black turtleneck sweaters.

"That's what I wear," the business magnate added. "I have enough to last for the rest of my life."

Miyake died Friday of liver cancer, the Associated Press reported Tuesday, citing a statement from Miyake Design Office.

Miyake rose to fame in the 1970s by "defining a Japanese vision that was unique from the West," according to AP. In addition to designing Jobs' iconic black turtleneck sweaters, he was known for his bold pleated designs and perfumes.

The designer took inspiration from various cultures, societal motifs and everyday items, including plastic, rattan, yarn, batik and wiring. He also made technology-driven designs, in which he used computer technology in the process of weaving to create clothes.

But despite becoming one of the most well-known fashion designers from Japan, Miyake did not like the title, believing it to be "a frivolous, trend-watching, conspicuous consumption."

Miyake's office confirmed Tuesday that a private funeral had already been held and that other ceremonies will not be held in accordance with the fashion designer's wishes.