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If you had any second thoughts about how Apple sees itself as a high-end fashion brand in the consumer electronics world, doubt no more: today the company announced that it is appointing Angela Ahrendts, currently the CEO of Burberry, as its SVP of retail and online stores, a new position at the company that will report directly to Tim Cook. The new role takes effect in the Spring of 2014. At the UK-based fashion house, she is getting succeeded by designer Christopher Bailey.

Apple says Ahrendts will be in charge of “the strategic direction, expansion and operation” of both Apple retail and online stores. Apple’s direct sales operations have been a juggernaut that has redefined how consumer electronics are marketed and sold, with many like Microsoft, Samsung and Nokia trying to replicate the formula (less successfully).

“I am profoundly honored to join Apple in this newly created position next year, and very much look forward to working with the global teams to further enrich the consumer experience on and offline,” said Ahrendts in a statement. “I have always admired the innovation and impact Apple products and services have on people’s lives and hope in some small way I can help contribute to the company’s continued success and leadership in changing the world.”

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, meanwhile noted that Ahrendts “shares our values and our focus on innovation, and she places the same strong emphasis as we do on the customer experience.”

The connection between Burberry and Apple is an interesting one. As Apple was gearing up for a big sales push with its new generations of the iPhone in September, the fashion house used the device prominently during its Spring/Summer 2014 fashion show — a big enough deal that Apple press released the event. Little did we know at the time that this was something of a foreshadowing wink towards today’s news. (Hell, even that champagne color is, frankly, a metalic version of Burberry beige.)

Of course, it goes beyond simply one company using the phones of another in some kind of cross-promotional opportunity. Apple has long cultivated itself as no ordinary garden variety consumer electronics brand. It’s apparent in its design (always high end), its pricing (premium), and its general comportment as a special, unique thing. Not a Red Delicious apple, but a rare variety from an orchard once belonging to a noble family. In that regard, it’s actually very close in ethos to how many high-end fashion brands, including Burberry (except for its “chav” stumble), have positioned themselves for years.

There is also an ironic riposte here to what precedes Ahrendts. Other retail heads (under different titles, another mark of how Apple is breaking a bit with things it doesn’t like from its past) have included Ron Johnson, who left to run JC Penney, and John Browett, who had headed up UK mid-range electronics chain Dixons. I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but JC Penney and Dixons are a very far cry from Burberry and Apple.

On the other hand, as Apple does move into more segmentation in its iPhone devices, you can see where the experience of someone like Ahrendts, who has successfully navigated Burberry into a position of regaining its stature with high-end customers but also continuing to further its name and products to a wider audience, would fit in perfectly.

Before Burberry, Ahrendts cut her teeth at a number of other fashion houses, including Liz Claiborne and Donna Karan.