Okonkwo Prelims

product views, zoom facilities of whole and parts of products, text font, style
and size, interactive flash media, full screen mode and graphics.
The homepage of a luxury brand’s website is the first point of contact
between the brand and the online luxury shopper. The homepage introduction
must be powerful in order to create a high impact and reinforce the prestige
attributes of the brand. Several luxury brands such as Roberto Cavalli, John
Galliano, André Ross and Valentino have implemented highly graphical and
attention-grasping homepages, while the majority of luxury brands have
homepages that are far from powerful. It is also important for a luxury brand’s
homepage to reinforce the brand’s attributes such as the brand’s personality
and heritage. Chanel captures this feature effectively on its website’s home-
page, which opens with the Chanel double C logo in the brand’s classic black
and white colours. Also, the homepage should be constantly updated and
must maintain consistent impressive features in the course of the updates.
Louis Vuitton is one of the few luxury brands that has maintained a steady use
of visually-arresting and regularly updated pictorial images on its homepage
to create high impact (Figures 6.16–6.19).

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digital luxury

Figure 6.17
Vuitton.com
(Spring 2005)

Figure 6.16

Vuitton.com

(Spring 2004)