NEW YORK — High-end fashion designers have adopted tantalizingly divergent strategies toward defining their Internet presence. There’s the no-Web site approach (Calvin Klein), the Web site as the front line in a burgeoning multimedia empire (Polo Ralph Lauren) and the waiting for instructions on what to do with my Web site (DKNY).
But on all-too-rare occasions, a famous designer Web site appears in the form of a voluptuous, languorous blonde, who keeps you glued to your monitor through sheer force of presence. That would be the Versace Web site, which officially launched on Monday at versace.com. Like Anita Ekberg in “La Dolce Vita,” the Versace online site demands your strict attention, but appears to want desperately to be left alone.
“There are no boundaries in the world of fashion and there are no boundaries in the world of technology — that is why Versace and the Internet are a perfect fit,” announced Donatella Versace in a company statement. She added, in Gloria Gaynor-like fashion: “We have arrived online. We are moving on. It’s time for a change.” And the Versace Web site is, for certain, quite a change from the ever evolving Internet norm — more an MTV-inspired multimedia concert than a simple online business card. While all the various Versace lines are profiled — including Versace Young, Versace Classic V2, Perfumes and Makeup, Versace Jeans Couture, Versace Sport, and Versus — there is no e-commerce on the Web site. Customers interested in purchasing something are directed to the Versace boutique at LuxLook.com, while off-line shoppers are prompted to “pick a continent” and track down a Versace purveyor near them. Currently, Versace has 240 exclusive boutiques and more than 150 “dedicated spaces” at fashion retailers such as department stores, as well as a number of multibrand boutiques in 60 countries.
The Versace Web site’s focus on intense, throbbing aesthetics is anything but accidental, explained Farhad Farman-Farmaian, chief executive officer of DigitalForm, the New York-based design house that built the marketing-driven destination at versace.com. “Our goal is to create more meaningful and compelling spaces online, as opposed to simple ‘Web pages,’ which we find both sterile and stagnant,” said Farman-Farmaian. “We want something that is architectural; user friendly yet elegant.” Along with his sister Ayshe, DigitalForm’s creative director who previously created the Virtual Museum at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Farman-Farmaian has been working diligently on the Versace Web site since July. It is heavy on Flash animation and features original techno music. But, so as not to neglect the 56K (modem speed) majority, Versace.com is accessible in both broadband and narrowband formats.
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As Ayshe Farman-Farmaian explained: “Versace wanted an informational site, but they didn’t have that many specifics apart from wanting to reflect the brand online. So, we used our TV and film background to transform the site into a live TV space, with a view to building it up even further in the future, doing live streaming of fashion shows.” DigitalForm’s other clients include Sisley cosmetics, LuxLook.com, which features the Versace e-commerce boutique, and the Ford Foundation.