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Apple Hires CEO of Yves Saint Laurent To Head Special Projects
alphadogg writes "Apple has hired Paul Deneve, until Tuesday the CEO of French luxury brand Yves Saint Laurent, to work as its vice president for special projects, igniting fresh speculation about possible new product launches including a TV or wearable computing devices such as a smart watch. He'll be reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook. Unsurprisingly, the company doesn't want to elaborate on what kind of special projects Deneve, who has worked at Apple in the past, will be working on. But the hire has resulted in analysts speculating, and wearable computing is on top of the list."
If you don't have anything to report, then don't report. Enough with worthless speculation.
SJWs are the new boogeyman. -Me
Sad. You'd think they never learn.
I predict that this is the end of Apple, without Jobs, they have no spark or mystery left. They've become fairly boring lately and it feels like they are just doing what they can in the mean time...
-- stoops
The substance is minimal and what little there is almost always comes from outside of Apple.
They could be bringing him on in order to introduce a new brand of perfume.
iSmell.
French designed black-and-white-and-flattened handbags are coming.
Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!
What does staring at the navy have to do with rumpr mongering?
It must be smellable computing! Yeah, stinky computers.
After all, YSL peddles a load of overpriced fragrances.
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
This bodes poorly for innovation and technological rigor
OTOH, it bodes but well for people who think that Apple is diluting its brand with product lines that are affordable to the rabble.
"Mom, mom, can I get one of those new 'Apple LCD-TV shirts(TM)' this year? I've been a good boy."
"Long or short sleeve?"
In related news, Apple applies for a patent on the term iShirt
Why cant apple hire James Bond or M to design new gadgets
They should have hired Jean-Paul Gaultier, he did all the costumes for The Fifth Element.
He's there to design turtlenecks for Tim and Jony.
1. Announce vague hire with reasonable experience
2. Let the media fall all over itself and boost your stock price
3. Proft!
Pretty much worked!
Hodor.
Considering that these luxury brands know nothing about practical usability, I can only assume this guy has been hired for some kind of special edition product. If I had to make a random assumption I'd even suggest it's for a China-specific product. The Chinese have a fetish for over-priced ultra-luxury brands on a level Americans can't fathom. It's bad enough that a few years back Louis Vuitton was concerned about the tarnishing of the brand due to increased prevalence of their bags. So they raised prices to keep them out of the hands of the plebeians. In the West, however, outside certain circles these brands don't carry a whole lot of prevalence. I can't imagine the YSL connection being of particular significance for most Apple devotees.
The whole thing is a bit odd given that YSL's foundation is in attire, not product design. They certainly have no experience in anything even remotely practical. If the goal here were some apparel based implementation of Apple's technology there are dozens of other companies better suited to the task. Additionally, those companies would have much more experience in cost-effective sourcing of materials and efficient manufacturing. Not like these luxury brands who burn last year's unsold product so that they can maintain exclusivity.
The practice of hiring renown designers is not unheard of, but companies tend to hire expertise that makes sense for the context. This almost always means that they hire product designers. Several years back, for example, Microsoft was working with Philippe Starck on peripherals. Even in that environment, however, it's often a miss because these designers know far more about aesthetics than about reliability and practicality. They're used to making products that sit untouched and are ogled from afar. Whatever issues arise are usually handled directly by the company and with the level of care you'd expect from a high-priced product. It's a totally different environment than consumer electronics. The optical mouse created under the Microsoft/Starck union looks cool, but was generally considered to be crap.
That said, Apple doesn't really need outside help to value form over function. Remember the puck mouse? How about the current piece of shit Magic Mouse? We've also all seen the new Mac Pro. What's concerning is the picture this paints for the company. It's not a big deal in the scheme of things if this is really just for a special edition product. However, if this is where they're looking to define future trends for the company I think we're seeing the beginning of the end. That's the sort of crap OEMs engage in when they're tring to build a reputation for themselves by coming up with goofy co-branded products.
A lot of Apple products are basically luxuries, and without directly admitting it, most of their marketing strategies have been similar to those for luxury products, so this sounds like a perfect match.
Also, of course Apple is experiementing with wearable computing, they probably have been experimenting with it for a decade or two. Apple doesn't bring products to market until they are ready. The problem with wearable computing is that the interface and display tends to be minute, and glasses can only fix one of those problems. I also imagine that all the great things we've been told wearable computing could do would be massive battery hogs. If they get it to be marketable, we will see it. Otherwise, we won't.
What is surprising here? They are both brands that rely on fashion over substance.
Microsoft Microsoft. Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft?
Mushroom!
Of course news about a fake are Fake News.
It was obvious Apple had to do something about Google Search and Smell...
It's a snake!
Increasingly, Apple is not for doers. It is not for power users. It is
not for creators. It is not for people who think different. It is for
posers. It is for hipsters. It is for metrosexuals. It is for wannabes
and pretenders.
Now Apple will make fashion - just like when YSL hired a former Apple manager as CEO, they started making computers.
Of course news about a fake are Fake News.