Chipperfield is/was the Vice President of Digital and Interactive Design at Burberry. According to previous job position, Chipperfield was “responsible for User Experience and Digital Design for all channels.” According to his LinkedIn profile, Chipperfield’s position at Apple will be for “Special Projects”, whatever that means, although some are speculating that he would have something to do with the launch of the Apple Watch.
Previously we have seen Apple hire the likes of Angela Ahrendts who was the former CEO of Burberry (and possibly Chipperfield’s former boss); Burberry’s social media executive Musa Tariq; Paul Deneve formerly of fashion house Yves St. Laurent; Jacob Jordan from Louis Vuitton; and Patrick Pruniaux who was TAG Heuer’s former VP of global sales.
All these hirings seems to suggest that Apple could be interested in repositioning themselves in the market not so much as a tech company, but a company known for luxurious lifestyle products. The Apple Watch is currently pegged for a release in March, so do check back with us at a later date for more details.