Apple has made it obvious that it’s making a big fashion play with the Apple Watch.
After inviting the fashion industry press to the product’s unveiling and staging a one-day showing during Paris Fashion Week, the Apple Watch is getting its own Vogue cover. Well, Vogue China, to be specific.
“When Jonathan Ive and Tim Cook talked me through how they developed the concept of the Apple Watch from the beginning, I was impressed by their thoughts and passion for the project,” Angelica Cheung, Vogue China’s editor-in-chief, told BoF in an interview about the partnership.
“Then I saw the watches and thought they looked rather good; some are sporty and others are very classic and elegant. At the same time, they all have so many functions that would be useful in our daily life. I just thought that they combined technology, style and functionality and were very modern and, therefore, perfect accessories for the modern-day woman which is what the Vogue China woman is about.”
Why China? Tim Cook sees it surpassing the U.S. as Apple’s top market, and demand for Apple products in the country is intense.
“Chinese people are actually very digitally minded and we embrace new technology and digital products more easily than perhaps people elsewhere,” said Ms Cheung. “We are an ancient country but at the same time a very young country when it comes to fashion and new products. We love to embrace everything that is new, modern and positive,” she added. “All these convince us that the intersection of fashion and technology is a natural progression, not something alien.”
The woman wearing the gold Apple Watch Edition on the cover is Liu Wen, a highly-sought after model who has done campaigns for nearly every high-end fashion brand imaginable. She teased some kind of ongoing relationship while at Apple’s last event in Cupertino.
Interestingly, Vogue recently ran a profile of Apple’s Jony Ive.
Vogue China’s Apple Watch cover arrives next month, and the watch itself is rumored to ship around February.
Source: BoF
