Roger Fingas
The high fashion theme of Apple Watch marketing has all but disappeared, in stark contrast with some of the publicity stunts it arranged for the first-generation launch in 2014 and 2015, a report noted on Wednesday.
At one point the editors of Fashionista and the British edition of Vogue — Lauren Indvik and Alexandra Shulman — both flew out to a Cupertino event in the middle of New York Fashion Week, one of the biggest events in the high fashion calendar, the New York Times said. During what is arguably the most important event, Paris Fashion Week, Apple held an unveiling at the Parisian luxury boutique Colette, attended by no less than superstar fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld.
When Colette began selling the Watch, there was a line of over 150 people, even though there were multiple Parisian Apple stores.
One prelaunch event in October 2014 included a dinner with fashion designer Azzedine Alaia and Watch designers Jony Ive and Marc Newson. Guests included executives, designers, and editors from brands like Balmain, Vogue, and Comme des Garcons, as well supermodels Cara Delevingne and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Even celebrities unrelated to fashion were there such as musicians Mick Jagger and Lenny Kravitz.
Apple hired multiple executives from the fashion world, such as Tag Heuer's Patrick Pruniaux, Yves Saint Laurent's Paul Deneve, and most notably former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts, who with Ive helped redesign Apple stores to be more fashion-focused. That aesthetic remains in place, but Deneve, Pruniaux, and even Ahrendts are no longer with the company.
The first-generation Watch famously (or infamously) included an ultra-expensive Edition model starting at $10,000, thanks to its use of real gold. In some cases Apple handed custom Editions with all-gold bands to celebrities like Lagerfeld and pop star Beyonce, a tactic to ensure the Watch was talked about and envied in the right circles.
2016's Series 2 saw the Edition switch from gold to ceramic though, dramatically lowering its cost, and Apple dropped the Edition line entirely for 2018's Series 4. The company does still have two fashion options — Nike and Hermes — but even Nike is more about fitness than style, and Hermes models don't come anywhere near the cost of the gold Edition.
For most people, the only fashion aspects of the Watch they now encounter are Apple's seasonal band updates and third-party band options. Many are likely content with the bands that ship with the device.
Beginning with the Series 2, Apple's design and marketing focus has increasingly shifted towards health and fitness. The company frequently calls attention to the Watch's ability to detect atrial fibrillation, and the Series 4 includes an ECG sensor. Serious runners and weightlifters can pair a Watch with a chest strap for maximum heart rate accuracy.
Rumors regarding a "Series 5" Watch have only started to emerge — but it's believed that Apple will try to add yet more sensor technology, workout options, and a return to a ceramic model.
Amber Neely
Andrew Orr
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
20 Comments
Well I just got my new Apple Watch 4 44mm a few days ago to replace my Original. Actually I'm going to continue to use my Original for Sleep Tracking. I think it'll be fine for that. That allows me to just swap my watches on the charger.
Going from 42mm to 44mm, it's only 2mm difference, but looking at the screen, everything is so much larger. I didn't think it would really be that much of a difference. But really, a Apple Watch as High Fashion really didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Not then and not now. All the things it can do make far more sense and that should be what is pushed. As they say, you spend hours of your computer, Minutes on your Smartphone and Seconds on your Smart Watch. The Watch gets me off of pulling out my phone for every little ding, etc as I can just look at my watch quickly. You know when you pull out your phone to see what that ding is, you end up doing a few other things, and before you know it, you've been on it for the last 15 minutes for something that really should have been a few seconds. With the watch, it's a glance and then you're done.
I’m glad Apple picked the health route instead of continuously trying to make the watch a fashion statement. The gold watch was rediculous.
Apple went as far as supplying all of its retail stores with safes to store the gold edition watches when only flagship stores would carry them.
I did like the look of the ceramic watch, but it still was way overpriced for what it was.
The fashion thing probably made some sense at the outset, to make sure people felt like they looked good and not silly wearing them. It’s less of an issue with AirPods because you don’t typically leave them in your ears all day in various environments. But now that the watches are everywhere, this is less of an issue, and the idea of selling something so expensive that would be obsolete in a year or two was always a bit awkward.
The whole notion of the Apple Watch is intrinsically incompatible with fashion.
Fashion is about personal distinction. Just look at the way women are embarrassed when two show up to a party wearing the same dress.
It crosses gender lines. Although very few wristwatches are one-of-a-kind, you’d be hard pressed to find two men in any social engagement wearing the same wristwatch. Men’s dress is stifling and uniform; watch enthusiasts spend hard cash on them because it is a subtle, socially acceptable form of expression, if not outright peacocking.
Which is, you know, fine. Just like long nails were originally fashionable because they broadcasted that the bearer didn’t need to do manual labor, fashion watches will come to broadcast that the wearer is important enough that he can afford to not be connected "around the clock."
that said, dang I’d love me a white ceramic model… what an awesome material. gimme a white ceramic backed iphone too, I can use it to bludgeon the angry villagers when the revolution begins