As much as Apple wants the tech press on its side, tech writers aren’t the only journalists being invited to Cupertino’s September 9 event, where it’s heavily rumored the iWatch will be unveiled for the world to see.
Lending even more credence to the idea that Apple is set to announce its entry into the world of wearables, the company has reportedly been inviting unprecedented numbers of fashion editors and bloggers to the event.
“I assume it’s because they are unveiling a wearable,” Lea Goldman, features and special projects director for Marie Claire magazine told Reuters. “This suggests Apple is serious about tapping into the fashion world, which often sits on the sidelines.”
While Apple hasn’t indicated one way or the other, it has been making plenty of moves to embrace the fashion world as of late, including hiring Paul Deneve, the former CEO of Yves Saint Laurent, to work on “special projects” under Tim Cook.
SVP of Retail Angela Ahrendts also comes from a fashion background, joining Apple from her position as CEO of Burberry late last year.
Ever-reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities has previously suggested that conquering the fashion world is one of Apple’s big aims with the iWatch, since expanding into this niche of the wearables market will allow Apple to pursue its usual high-end, high-margin strategy.
“Fashion is the name of the game; most expensive model likely priced at several thousand US dollars,” Kuo has written. “Referring to the rules of the fashion market, we predict the iWatch casing and band will come in various materials. The most expensive model of the iWatch line will carry a price tag of several thousand US dollars.”
Last month Apple hosted a “first-of-its-kind event” at an Apple Store in New York to show off fashion and retail apps to a group of magazine style editors.
Source: Reuters
