Apple Watch makes US magazine cover debut with model Candice Swanepoel

Supermodel Candice Swanepoel, best known for her work as a Victoria's Secret Angel, will be the first woman to don the upcoming Apple Watch in a U.S. magazine cover shoot with the March issue of women's lifestyle magazine SELF, suggesting Apple is quickly expanding marketing efforts beyond fashion and into fitness tracking.

According to SELF, Swanepoel, who is seen above wearing an Apple Watch running the Activity app, is the first woman to be featured wearing Apple Watch on a U.S. magazine cover. The publication's March issue comes four months after supermodel Liu Wen sported the device in a Vogue China spread last October.

Lending Apple Watch to a sports-minded women's magazine is a departure from Apple's product placement advertising efforts, which have thus far focused on fashion aspects of the device.

Considering Swanepoel's athletic prowess, it was an ideal accessory for her sporty cover shoot. She told SELF, "I'm an athlete. I use every single muscle, especially my core and arms, when I pose. It's so important for me to feel strong!"

Aside from a brief overview of Apple Watch's features, with an eye on fitness tracking, the short blurb on SELF's website does not reveal new details regarding Apple's forthcoming wearable. It is unclear if the print version will have a more comprehensive look at the Watch.

SELF's online look at Apple Watch wraps up with a few hero shots of the device supplied by Apple, but the print issue promises to have a few more onsite photos.