Apple hires former Yves Saint Laurent CEO for 'special projects'

Wearables could seem like a logical next step for Apple's long term roadmap, especially when considering early efforts like the Pebble and Google Glass by other companies. Maybe we'll look back and regard those in the same way we regard the Motorola Razr today.

I remember my graduate advisor, author to the most cited tangible interaction paper out there, musing on what Apple would be doing 10 years from now. His speculations were on the side of augmented jewelry– wearable, without being as large as a watch or glasses– and smart textiles. The industry examples are scarce, but the research in this field is extremely active (http://www.tei-conf.org/), with some very interesting prototypes being demo'd and work being published every year.

I'm looking forward to chatting about this with you all again in 10 years :)

He is also a former Apple employee, so they probably have a bit more background then some of their other executive hires.

I have to say in light of all this PRISM stuff, iWatch takes on a whole new meaning for me.

The biggest news from this announcement is that Paul Deneve will be reporting directly to Tim Cook, not to Jony Ive.

This is odd.

1. We know it isn't retail. They'd have just said so. 2. We know he's probably not going to have any design influence: YSL, like Vertu, is so far behind Apple's design that it'd be unthinkable for Ive to cede any control here. 3. I have to believe that the watch Apple is working on is way more of a computer than anything else. I'd be less surprised if they appointed a scientist to run this.

Very weird.

Given that he was a former Apple employee and a Stanford graduate, I would hazard a guess that it was more likely that he left Apple and went to Yves Saint Laurent to gain insight into the fashion industry to return the knowledge back to Silicon Valley and Apple. As opposed to everyone claiming he's a fashion executive coming into the tech industry.

Can you say wearables have arrived? IIICTECH has a necklace/keychain/carry device in production now.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/WINK/BLINK/prweb10367324.htm

I'm wondering if this will go beyond just wearables and touch on the overall presentation of the brand. Bring that 'wow' back to unboxing apple products.

It is just natural, given Apple is in the fashion business since 1984...

Former fashion CEO -> wearables? iWatch?

Apple needs its own version of an internally developed "Vertu" phone, I mean, their margins are too low!!

I recall the first time I saw the Vertu phones in Singapore, then I asked about their prices....

There is an old saying: "a fool and his money are soon parted"

I have a new saying: "there is no limit to what the elite will spend the fools money on"

iDontGetIt...

http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/22/42/37/4859884/3/628x471.jpg http://ww2.hdnux.com/photos/22/42/37/4859881/3/628x471.jpg http://ww2.hdnux.com/photos/22/42/37/4859885/3/628x471.jpg http://ww3.hdnux.com/photos/22/42/37/4859878/3/628x471.jpg

No, unfortunately these photos were not manipulated with Aperture... http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Rockabilly-Saint-Laure...