Forget the iPhone X for a moment: post-Apple reveal, the one thing that the Internet is genuinely coveting is retail chief Angela Ahrendts’ blush trench coat.
Silicon Valley is hardly known for being a hotbed of sartorial trailblazers (think along the lines of Mark Zuckerberg’s pool slides and grey tees, or Steve Jobs’ famous roll necks), which is perhaps why Twitter users were so pleasantly surprised by the Senior Vice President of Retail’s conference style: as one put it, ‘Angela’s [fire emoji] trench is the best reveal so far.’
Of course, it’s a depressing truth that fashion statements from high profile women are often granted more headlines than the substance of their proposals or arguments (something which happens to men in only the rarest of instances). It’s perhaps also heartening, though, to see that a talented businesswoman like Ahrendts hasn’t felt the need to compromise her personal style when working in a male-dominated sphere like tech – especially in the context of a recent anecdote from Silicon Valley CEO Eileen Carey, who revealed that she dyed her naturally blonde hair brown and gave up contact lenses to be ‘taken seriously’ by male investors.
The lace applique style in question costs $2,895 (that’s £1,995) and is the work of classic Brit label Burberry. Ahrendts is certainly no stranger to the heritage brand and their endlessly desirable trenches, having served as the company’s chief executive from 2006 until 2013. Working alongside Christopher Bailey, she was widely crediting as having transformed Burberry into the international super-brand of today. Her mantra at the time? ‘Everyone in the world should have a trench coat, and there should be a trench coat for everyone in the world.’ Prior to her role at Burberry, Ahrendts worked widely in the fashion industry, with positions at the likes of Donna Karan and Gossip Girl favourite Henri Bendel.
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New data from global fashion search platform Lyst.com revealed that it was Angela’s trench – and not the runways of New York – that was playing on shoppers’ minds last night: in the two hours following her speech, global searches for ‘lace trench coat,’ ‘pink trench coat’ and ‘pink lace trench coat’ spiked by a massive 830 percent altogether, while the exact match coat was viewed once every 12 seconds on Lyst.
It’s important to note, though, that Ahrendts was the only woman given airtime at the Apple conference. In turn, this was the first of these events at which Ahrendts was given a platform, despite having being on the board since 2014. Clearly Apple – and the tech industry at large – has a long way to go when it comes to diversity.
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