Philippe Starck's Project With Apple is Steve Jobs' Yacht

In the wake of a claim from French designer Philippe Starck that he has been working with Apple on a "revolutionary" new project, Apple has issued a statement to AllThingsD specifically denying the assertion.

Reached for comment, an Apple spokeswoman said the company is not working on a new product with Starck. And while she declined to speculate about what the designer might have been referring to when he told France Info Radio that he and Apple “have a big project together that will be out in eight months,” there’s a good explanation for the remark.

The report goes on to explain that the project mentioned by Starck appears to be a yacht being built for the Jobs family and mentioned in Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs. French site igeneration had speculated as much [Google translation] earlier today, knowing that Jobs was working with Dutch shipbuilder Feadship and that Starck had also worked with the company on other boat designs.

The report from AllThingsD seems to confirm that Starck has been involved in the design of Jobs' yacht, and would explain why Starck is continuing to travel to Cupertino to meet with Jobs' wife Laurene as the project moves along.