Model Christy Turlington Burns (right) compares Apple Watches as Apple CEO Tim Cook looks on following an Apple event in San Francisco, California March 9, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

Nevertheless, he added, the company's push could pay off.

"Their message to the fashion world has definitely become more focused over the past few weeks," he said. "It's evident that they've been fine tuning their strategy.”

Among other things, the company ran a 12-page advertisement in the March issue of Vogue, which Burke said people noticed. "The buzz is starting to build again," He said.

Though Turlington noted that she was wearing her "chic" version of the watch at Apple's Monday event, she praised it primarily as a fitness tracker, noting that it had helped her in training for a half-marathon in Tanzania and would, she hoped, help her crack the four-hour mark in her next full marathon.

But her endorsement may not hold much sway with people who primarily want an attractive watch. Fashion trend-spotter Roseanne Morrison of the Tobe Report said the watch's need for a nightly charge and an accompanying iPhone were considerable drawbacks.

"It is not attractive from a woman's point of view. Right now, it is not sexy," she said, and lacks "a femme spin."

Nicole Phelps, executive editor at Style.com, who attended the Apple unveiling at Colette, said Apple has one big advantage with the fashion crowd that could help as it launches its new watch.

"The fashion industry is 100 percent in love with iPhone," she said. "The Apple Watch looks like an Apple product, it looks good and sleek, and you have the market behind it."

But in the end, she said, it will come down to one crucial question: "Do people want those tools around their wrist?"

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