When I first heard the announcement that Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts is stepping down next year to take a new role at Apple her position hadn’t been clearly defined to the public yet. It took several hours to learn she will become head of retail stores and ecommerce. That helped me bring my initial thoughts into sharper focus.

On the one hand, I was really excited about the idea. I think it’s a great catch for Apple. I’ve started to realize that Apple makes more fashionable products than most of the apparel and footwear companies I know, and love the idea that the brand can be cemented as such. Further, I’ve felt that the Apple stores have lost a step. They’ve been headless far too long. Bringing someone in who thinks outside the Consumer Electronics box is a bold and sensible stroke.

Then I remembered how excited I, like many others was about Ron Johnson heading to JC Penney. That drove me to a few hours of self-doubt (saying this in a radio interview as a self-deprecating opener was probably not the brightest thing I’ve ever done). But upon further reflection, it’s a really different situation. On the one hand, we had someone who’d taken a ride to the top on the Apple Retail Rocket Ship, and sort of presumed he could re-invent a tired (and frankly moribund) concept without the cash and step-wise execution to make it work. But on the other, we have a person who has taken a one-note company, Burberry, known for trench coats with plaid linings and….nothing else and turned it into an edgy, fashion-forward company for all ages. Within a few hours I had myself stoked again. Ms. Ahrendts knows fashion and what it takes to be a fashion success.

Here’s what’s really got me intrigued. Burberry could not remain a single product company, and Apple cannot remain a four product store (iPad, iPhone, iPad, Mac). We’re entering an era of wearable technology. But no one can say that Google glass or the Samsung watch is cool. Well, I suppose some people could say it, but the high-end masses, not so much. Imagine clothes with embedded Apple technology. Imagine a second Apple store that sells those clothes. Imagine the synergies between your phone and your clothes. Ms. Ahrendt is an excellent choice to shepherd in this new era, especially coupled with creative talent like Jonathan Ive.

Gartner put forward a pretty daring vision for the future of technology a couple of weeks ago. To quote ComputerWorld:

Gartner analysts warned that a data explosion threatens to overwhelm, sensors will be everywhere, 3-D printing will change everything, and smart machines will replace people.

Gartner analysts warned that a data explosion threatens to overwhelm, sensors will be everywhere, 3-D printing will change everything, and smart machines will replace people.

CIOs that don’t adapt will become simple custodians of back-end systems. Companies that fail to change will join Kodak, Blackberry and Wang, each of which was slow to recognize new forces in technology.

So think about Apple in that context. If you’ve got the devices that talk to the sensors, why not also make the clothes? Take me for example. I’m not young by most measures. Still, most would agree I’m pretty young for my age. I like cool things and I love gadgets probably more than my peers. I’ve bought a Fitbit to monitor my exercise and use a cloud-based app to monitor my food intake. I’ve been known to wear pulse monitors. But I’m also starting to think about where I might settle in my retirement years. Ironically, just as access to health insurance has informed a lot of my career decision-making over the years, proximity to medical providers seems to be informing my post-career planning. What if I want to make St Croix my retirement home, two hours from major hospitals? The idea that I could get early warning for impending physical problems and make plans accordingly is as liberating as the idea of affordable available health care. And how cool would it be to have those early warning sensors embedded into cool looking clothes?

So my vision for Ms. Ahrendt’s tenure at Apple has a short-, medium-, and long-range focus to it. Short-term, get those stores popping again and bring customer service back up to standards. Mid-range, bring in more high-margin add-on products to compliment the high dollar value electronics. Long-term, start thinking about apparel, footwear, “jewelry ” (not diamonds…kitchy stuff) and preparing for the next generation of embedded technology. And all along the way, continue global expansion into new markets.

The net here is a great opportunity for the company, and some excitement in the future for Apple fans. We’ve been bemoaning the lack of interesting fashion for some time now and have observed that something is awry when then next iPhone is anticipated more highly than the next Fashion Week. What if those two things converge? Assuming Apple can keep privacy issues in check this could prove to be the next great thing in both clothes and technology. And something fresh for an otherwise tired retail landscape as well.