Phoebe Philo

This past year, Phoebe Philo’s namesake fashion brand launched a new e-commerce platform that brings the designer’s highly anticipated collection to global fans.

Work & Co worked closely with Philo and her team to shape the digital-first brand from the ground up. We partnered on concept development, detailed design production, and tech planning for the new website, whose launch paved the way for the new digital-first, luxury brand.

As a new and hotly anticipated brand, Phoebe Philo needed a website that balanced the creative expression of its visual identity with the performance and functionality of a seamless consumer experience. The goal was to draw on evocative imagery and build an emotional response with site visitors prior to them on the path to commerce.

Since the brand was being crafted from scratch, there was no preexisting imagery or brand book to work from; instead, inspiration was drawn from reference imagery to create templates that showcase Phoebe Philo in a distinct manner. It was created to be brand and image forward with typeface and color palette infused with confidence and elegance, producing something bold yet classic.

Three core design decisions we focused on were:

Creating an image-forward experience

Prioritizing a flexible framework, allowing for future spontaneity

Focusing on a straightforward shopping experience, designed for limited quantities

The brand aims to stand out by offering customers “high quality materials and craftsmanship, and designs that maintain relevance over time.” Collections are produced in limited quantities to promote sustainability and cut down on waste and overproduction so common in the luxury retail space. Since Phoebe Philo does not operate on the typical fashion calendar, the website is designed to be a living, breathing platform with a design system that is easily adapted to future needs.

Phoebe’s inaugural collection, named A1, sold out almost entirely within 24 hours of the website’s launch in the US, UK, and EU. The website launch, and the collection, received rave reviews in the media, including in Vogue, The New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, and Business of Fashion.