Revitalizing the Fashion Revolution

Established in 1971 by the eponymous British designer who introduced punk to the mainstream, Vivienne Westwood has grown into a global fashion powerhouse known for its rebellious styles, androgynous looks, and bold activism. With its long-time embrace of sustainability and environmentalism, Vivienne Westwood is perfectly poised to seize this retail moment as consumers grow increasingly climate conscious and seek out quality over quantity in their purchases. But the brand’s ability to connect with shoppers was hampered by an inflexible and expensive legacy platform— so Vivienne Westwood selected Astound as the perfect partner to execute a full-scope digital transformation.

Vivienne Westwood wanted to revamp its global D2C offerings from a commerce perspective while creating an entirely new look and feel for its site. To better serve its shoppers and streamline internal processes, the brand also needed a platform that could seamlessly integrate an order management solution and a comprehensive customer service program. And time was of the essence—Vivienne Westwood was eager to meet ambitious D2C revenue goals, which meant these improvements had to be implemented under incredibly tight deadlines.

We started by performing a full platform assessment and recommended a multi-cloud Salesforce implementation that included OMS, Service Cloud, and Commerce Cloud, paired with an entirely new front-end design. We elected to operate in two separate streams: one for the OMS and Service Cloud portions and one for the Commerce Cloud redesign and replatform.

Through an in-depth discovery process that included brand-onboarding and a creative concepts playbook, our design team collaborated closely with Vivienne Westwood’s global brand team to ensure that the new storefront captured the company’s punk heritage and inherently rebellious DNA. On the technical side, we conducted architecture, NFR, and storefront workshops so that we could ensure that the new Commerce Cloud storefront would deliver a seamless experience for consumers around the world. Where possible, we also used documentation from our Launch360: Storefront accelerator for increased speed and efficiency.

On the OMS and Service Cloud implementation, we opted for an accelerated Agile approach, which would allow us to deliver these aspects in a matter of weeks, allowing Vivienne Westwood to improve customer and order data, order efficiency, and customer contact management as quickly as possible.

Using our accelerated Agile methodology, we implemented the OMS and Service Cloud portions of the solution in just six weeks, allowing Vivienne Westwood to reap the benefits of vastly improved customer and order management solutions as we dove into the redesign and replatform.

To bring Vivienne Westwood’s signature rebellious style to life online, we introduced visual nuances, like hand-drawn hover-states, that recall the brand’s punk heritage without overwhelming the user. In addition, the user interface (UI) places the visual experience front and center, opting for full-screen content modules for images or video that showcase the brand’s bold graphics and aesthetics. We also implemented auto-scrolling carousels and messaging to give the site a more dynamic feel throughout.

Given the brand’s fabled origin story and sustained activism, we built the new storefront to feature editorial content (under the umbrella Westwood World) prominently in the site experience and surface those items throughout the user journey. To signal different types of content, we varied our approach to typography across the site. While product and evergreen content use Vivienne Westwood’s core font (Helvetica), editorial content from Westwood World is displayed in the brand’s alternative font (Times New Roman).

To drive business growth, ease internal processes, and support a seamless shopping experience around the world, we implemented more than 15 third-party integrations, including Avalara, ERP (SAP), Google Maps, Loqate, Ometria, OneTrust, and PIM (DAM/Reply).

In September 2023, we launched Vivienne Westwood’s best-in-class online storefront on time and on budget, the final component in our first project with this iconic brand. Highlights include:

• An accelerated Agile process that allowed us to deliver Service Cloud and OMS solutions in just six weeks
• A best-in-class new storefront that gives Vivienne Westwood increased flexibility and control over its D2C platform
• A future-proof, multi-cloud Salesforce ecosystem that will drive international D2C growth

Integrations included: