
Apple hires former Yves Saint Laurent CEO for 'special projects' - shawndumas
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE9611BP20130702?irpc=932
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GuiA
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/](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 :)

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

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

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

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EScott11
Disagreed. It's natural for the business head of a fashion shop to be at or
above the same "level" as the creative director. Deneve's expertise is the
strategy, operations, and business of fashion and should therefore report to
Apple's head of business, strategy, and operations, Tim Cook.

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georgespencer
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.

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canistr
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.

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RU_DVS
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](http://www.prweb.com/releases/WINK/BLINK/prweb10367324.htm)

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stevewillows
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.

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

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lostlogin
You know he was an Apple employee before moving to fashion right?

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coryl
Former fashion CEO -> wearables? iWatch?

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cjensen
In the last few days, Apple has trademarked "iWatch" in many countries around
the globe. So it's real. Having someone with experience in "stuff people wear"
makes good sense.

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swamp40
I knew it was real last September, when they discontinued the 6th gen Nano out
of the blue, right after some _very_ popular watch bands were designed around
it.

Textbook "kill your competition before _your_ product is released" move.

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samstave
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"

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7Figures2Commas
iDontGetIt...

[http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/22/42/37/4859884/3/628x471.jpg](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/22/42/37/4859881/3/628x471.jpg)
[http://ww2.hdnux.com/photos/22/42/37/4859885/3/628x471.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](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...](http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Rockabilly-Saint-Laurent-sees-
Slimane-more-at-ease-4639401.php)

~~~
nickbarnwell
That's Hedi Slimane's Saint Laurent Paris, essentially a reboot of his earlier
work at Dior Homme, and still irrelevant to the discussion at hand either way.
The CEO at a fashion house is hardly directly involved in the creative
process, at least at one as large as YSL.

