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05Case study / Fashion

Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen’s Autumn/Winter 2023 campaign on the web: cinematic, yet restrained, with a seamless path from entrance to purchase.

Role
Contract Web Designer, AW23 campaign website
Year
2023
Status
Delivered and launched live with the global campaign
Services
Web Design, Branding, UX/UI Design
Value
Bringing the Main Line's Seasonal Story to Life on the Web
Alexander McQueen AW23 campaign photograph, two frames on a rooftop: a model in a green dress and sunglasses holding a green bag against a brick wall, and a model in an embellished, cut-out ruffled gown against concrete
01

Introduction

Alexander McQueen’s Autumn/Winter 2023 campaign, brought to life on the web.

In Autumn 2023, I joined the Alexander McQueen team as a contract web designer, to help bring the main line’s Autumn/Winter campaign to life online. It was my second time designing for the house: eight years earlier, I worked on McQ’s Autumn campaign for France.

McQueen is known for meticulous craftsmanship and boundary-pushing stories, and this collection explored contrasts: rawness and refinement, boldness and vulnerability. My job was to carry that onto the screen in an experience that felt just as considered: elegant, accessible, and luxurious without slowing down, wherever in the world it opened.

The site was delivered and launched live with the global campaign. It’s under NDA, so the one screen I can show is the live landing page.

02

My Role

As a contract web designer, I focused on the campaign’s website alone, not print or the wider branding. That meant:

  • Web designThe campaign site’s layouts and digital assets, true to McQueen’s visual identity.
  • Style guideMcQueen’s fonts, color, spacing, and motion, extended for the web.
  • AccessibilityLayouts that met WCAG 2.1, from color contrast to alt text.
  • Every screenOne look across screens, resolutions, and global audiences.
  • CollaborationWith the in-house brand and development teams, and external partners.
03

The Challenge

The main line carries more visual and emotional weight than its sister brands. It’s more sculptural. More poetic. The site had to feel cinematic, yet restrained: the campaign imagery first, then a seamless journey from entrance to purchase.

Immersive
But never overwhelming.
Accessible
But never sterile.
Luxurious
Without slowing down, on mobile or desktop.

The site had to support the campaign’s story, not compete with it.

04

From Editorial to Web

Alexander McQueen AW23 campaign photograph: three models side by side, in a red cut-out dress, a dark leather coat with a large bag, and, in a black-and-white frame, a fringed black gown with a cut-out bodice and a large orchid

Built like a magazine

McQueen’s campaign images are made with an editorial eye, so my first job was letting them breathe on screen: full-bleed photography, intentional white space, and a layout rhythm that paces the site like a magazine’s page turns, or a walk through a gallery.

Alexander McQueen women's AW23 collection landing page: a black and white photograph of a model beside the AW23 Collection text and a Discover the AW23 Campaign button, above an embroidered evening dress, a knuckle clutch and a red trench dress

The live landing page

  1. The campaign leadsOne black-and-white portrait, with room around it to breathe.
  2. The season’s storyA serif title and a short, centered paragraph, set like an editorial page.
  3. One clear next stepA single call to action: Discover the AW23 Campaign.
  4. Then the piecesThe collection follows a row at a time, paced like a gallery.

Live in September 2023. In the brand’s words on the page, the women’s collection was “an exploration of beauty and anatomy.”

05

The Style Guide

With the in-house brand and development teams, I adapted McQueen’s fonts, color, spacing, and micro-interactions into a responsive web style guide. The identity is strict, but there was room for a few quiet digital flourishes, each one adding sophistication without distraction.

01

The system

  • Fonts
  • Color
  • Spacing

McQueen’s fonts, color, and spacing, adapted into responsive rules for every screen.

02

The flourishes

  • Hover states
  • Scroll reveals
  • Parallax

Motion kept subtle, so the page feels alive without pulling focus from the clothes.

03

Built to travel

  • Languages
  • Devices
  • Bandwidth

A global launch, so every asset had to scale across languages, devices, and bandwidth.

With the development team, I stress-tested layouts in different scenarios, especially in regions with limited connectivity, to keep the campaign’s emotional impact intact across touchpoints.

06

Accessibility First

Meeting WCAG 2.1 wasn’t just a technical checkbox. It was part of honoring the brand’s commitment to inclusion.

McQueen’s audience is global and diverse, so accessibility was designed in from the start:

Contrast
Color contrast tested rigorously.
Type
Font weights tuned for readability.
Alt text
Written into every visual touchpoint.
07

Results

An open laptop floating above a closed one on a dark background, showing the Alexander McQueen women's AW23 collection landing page

The site went live in early September 2023, alongside the global campaign rollout. The numbers are proprietary, but the internal feedback praised:

Cohesion
Visual cohesion with the rest of the campaign.
Performance
Better performance on mobile and in international markets.
Storytelling
Seamless navigation and storytelling.
Accessibility
A high accessibility rating, and compliance.
08

Learnings

  1. 01

    Restraint is a design decision. The quieter the page, the more the fashion speaks for itself.

  2. 02

    Accessibility belongs in luxury. It honors the brand’s commitment to inclusion, and it never has to look sterile.

  3. 03

    Test where the connection is weakest. A campaign only lands if it loads, wherever it launches.

09

Conclusion

Every interaction had to feel intentional, just like the clothes themselves.

This project was a lesson in subtlety and strength: honoring a legacy, while keeping the campaign inclusive and emotionally resonant online. I’m proud to have helped shape a digital experience that let the fashion speak for itself.