Apple has previously partnered with designer brand Hermes for a set of premium Apple Watch bands, sold separately from $340 per strap. It now appears that a second high-profile fashion designer, Coach, is coming on board with its own range of Apple Watch bands.
David Boglin De Bautista reports a sales associate in a Coach boutique told him about the upcoming collection, set to debut as early as June. The sales representative sent photos of the as-yet-unreleased bands (shown above), priced at $150 each.
Coach is best known for its designer range of satchels and bags. The pictured Apple Watch bands appear to reflect its spring bag collection with similar decorations and charms, according to the website. Some colors also feature custom stitching patterns.
Whether Coach is developing these bands independently or in collaboration with Apple is not clear but some form of partnership seems likely given Coach’s high profile status in the fashion world.
The reporter saw ‘about eight watch bands’ in total made by Coach, in white, black, red and brown. A common theme appeared to be little flower charms attached to the bands. A black band with white stitching was anecdotally noted in the store but the sales associate only provided photos of a couple of colors.
With the report claiming these Coach bands are set to debut around June, it is possible Apple could announce these at WWDC, its annual developer conference schedule for June 13-17. There’s also a chance that the timing could simply be coincidental.