Road-testing the Apple Watch at Salone del Mobile 2015
Apple is previewing Apple Watch at this year's Salone del Mobile in Milan with a one-day view and try-on event. It's a debut appearance at the world's major design fair for Apple and comes as excitement about the launch of its range of smart watches grows ever more fevered.
The launch takes place on 17 April at Carlo e Camilla in Segheria, which picked up the Best New Restaurant prize in February's Wallpaper* Design Awards issue. For locals, it may prove a tormenting teaser. Apple Watch will be launched in France, the UK and Germany as well as the US, Japan and China on 24 April but no launch date in Italy has been set yet.
Says Jony Ive, Apple's senior vice president of design: 'Salone del Mobile has such a deep-rooted history of embracing excellence in design so I'm particularly excited to celebrate our newest and most personal product, alongside our friends and fellow designers, at this special event.'
Observers are waiting to see if Apple Watch kick-starts stuttering demand for smart watches, just as Apple's iPod, iPhone and iPad did for MP3 players, smart phones and then tablets. It also represents the tech giant's most significant launch since it debuted the iPad five years ago and signals some seismic shifts in strategy, as mentioned in our latest May issue (W*194).
With three collections and almost infinite permutations of strap, size and case material, Apple Watch leaves behind the usual one-style-fits-all approach of past launches. And with an 18-Carat gold version of the Edition model retailing at £13,500, it also marks Apple's first explicit move into the luxury sector (prices start at £299). Price differences in Apple products have traditionally been based on under-the-bonnet boosts in speed and performance rather than the use of luxury materials. There has also been a shift in retail strategy with Apple Watch being launched through high-end concept stores such as Dover Street Market in London and Tokyo, Colette in Paris, Maxfield in LA and Corner in Berlin, as well as Apple Stores.
Ive and the Apple design team, with outside help from Marc Newson, have been working on Apple Watch for four years. And the company sees the Salone event as a way of properly introducing it to the international design community (largely loyal and long-term Apple consumers after all).
'Creating beautiful objects, respecting craftsmanship and focusing on a design process that's driven by the deepest care, utility and end use, has been our goal since the beginning,' says Ive. 'With the launch of Apple Watch, that's been more important than ever, to create a product where technology and craft, beauty and utility go hand in hand.'
ADDRESS
Carlo e Camilla in Segheria
Via Guiseppe Meda 24
Milano
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
JW Anderson and Pleasing design a balloon-inspired collection of nail polishes and more
JW Anderson and Pleasing launch an uplifting new capsule collection featuring balloon-inspired metallic nail polishes and a take on the viral rainbow cardigan
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Bottega Veneta drafts Venetian artisans for its unique ‘Bottega for Bottegas’ project, a gift list of local craft
Italian fashion house Bottega Veneta has sought out six craftspeople from in and around Venice to create precious objects – from playing cards to jigsaw puzzles – which arrive just in time for festive gift-giving
By Jack Moss Published
-
Agnès Varda, Luca Guadagnino and Wim Wenders: why Aesop’s love affair with cinema is more than skin-deep
Aesop’s new 2024 Christmas campaign celebrates its long love affair with cinema. Laura Havlin speaks with the brand’s head of global store design Marianne Lardilleux to discover why film is inherent to its DNA
By Laura Havlin Published
-
Tech tapestry: Apple unveils woven nylon straps for the Apple Watch
By Rosa Bertoli Last updated
-
The best gear, gadgets and garments for your bicycle
By Hannah Silver Last updated
-
Apple and Hermès reveal how their ultra-connected design could help us unplug
By Tony Chambers Last updated
-
Jony Ive goes behind the screen of the new Apple Watch with Tony Chambers
By Elly Parsons Published
-
Technically speaking: April 2018’s best technology launches
Our bi-monthly dissection of the best technology happenings the world over
By Elly Parsons Last updated
-
Model and campaigner Liya Kebede on judging the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2018
By Pei-Ru Keh Last updated
-
Ahead of the iPhone X release, we take a look at Apple’s latest suite of products
By Nick Compton Last updated
-
Apple Watch Hermès collection impresses loyal clients of both brands
Picky Nicky (quality maniac-at-large) reviews the Apple Watch Hermès collection
By Nick Vinson - Art Direction Published