I recently reviewed several luxury fashion websites and noticed a striking similarity in their layout patterns and typography choices.
While it’s clear their focus is on driving sales, I can’t help but feel they lack creativity. In this article, I’ll share some typical examples.
DIOR
Dior follows a standard fashion e-commerce design: large images, a centered logo, and a mega-menu. Their font of choice is Century Gothic Std.
HERMES
Hermès uses Orator , an all-caps monotype font, with Gill Sans and Helvetica as fallback options. I do appreciate that they integrated video controls in the hero section, making the site more accessible.
LUIS VUITTON
Luis Vuitton developed its own web font, Louis Vuitton Web, with Helvetica and Arial as fallback fonts. Like the others, their design features a centered logo and large photos and videos.
ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
MCQueen’s homepage is ultra-minimalistic, but I used here screenshot of the mega menu. They use Bembo with Georgia serif as a serif fallback font and Helvetica with Arial as sans-serif fallbacks.
CHANEL
Chanel created its own font, AbChanel, for titles and uses Helvetica for body text and lists. Their layout is similar to the other examples, but I admire how they incorporated AR/Virtual Try-On directly into the mega-menu for the eyewear section—a feature that’s more buried on other sites.
GUCCI
Gucci unsurprisingly focused on their iconic bags, developed Gucci Sans Pro, also with Helvetica and Arial as fallback fonts.
CONCLUSION
I understand that fashion brands prioritize photography and videos, but as we approach 2025, I can’t help but wonder if this is truly the best they can do with their web design strategies, which are centered around ‘shows’ and ‘looks’ to drive sales.
It’s disheartening to see how typography is often neglected, even in minimalistic designs. Could it be that all the advancements in web technologies are being overshadowed by SEO strategies that prioritize text over rich media? While I fully support the need for accessible websites, I believe accessibility can be achieved even within rich, visually and sensory engaging environments—perhaps even more effectively.