Bringing Brand Cohesion to a Global Fashion Group

Establishing Trust with a Global Fashion Leader

Capri Holdings—parent company to Versace, Michael Kors, and Jimmy Choo—was undergoing a major web refresh when I joined the team. As a UX Designer interfacing with the VP of Digital Transformation, I was responsible for shaping and implementing brand-consistent style guides and UX patterns across multiple luxury e-commerce platforms. My work directly contributed to the visual and functional cohesion of their North American and European web presences, and I worked closely with the EMEA team to make adjustments for the Middle-Eastern market especially.

📷 Image: Placeholder for personal style guide elements or diagrams
📷 Image: Screenshot of current live Versace or Michael Kors site (clearly labeled as public)

Auditing and Realigning the Design Ecosystem

Each brand had its own design team, legacy site quirks, and regional variations. Years of disparate teams’ efforts had left minor differences hiding in every font and color and the pixels at the very edge of a window throughout each of their sites.

I began by conducting UX audits of the existing sites, identifying hundreds of minor inconsistencies in layout, accessibility, and branding that, while small on their own, added up to a noticeable, consistent inconsistency belying the luxurious perfection their users expected. This process included both heuristic evaluations and collaborative sessions with internal teams to understand pain points in content delivery, component reuse, and localization.

Building Brand-Specific Style Guides

One of my core responsibilities was to create tailored design systems that reflected each brand’s identity while enabling consistent UI development. I authored and maintained comprehensive style guides for Versace and Michael Kors, including:

• Typography and hierarchy rules

• Button states and hover interactions

• Color palette and usage guidelines

• Layout modules and spacing grids

• Accessibility and contrast standards

These guides were used by both in-house and contracted design/dev teams to maintain cross-platform consistency and scalability. I was privileged to direct and teach some of the finest web developers I’ve known to implement these changes and drastically simplify their workflows with the uniformity these style guides provided.

📷 Image: Sample layout grid or spacing scale (if non-NDA)
📷 Image: Annotated screenshot of site showing style guide usage

Collaborating Across Time Zones and Teams

Capri’s structure meant working across many stakeholders: Creative Services, internal developers, third-party partners, and the EMEA translation/localization team. I served as a liaison between design and localization, delivering assets, addressing UI constraints, and answering design questions related to translated content and layout fit. The buck stopped with me, and I discovered I thrived in that position of responsibility.

I also oversaw Creative Services contributions to the style guide assets—assigning tasks, reviewing work, and requesting edits to ensure alignment with the high standards of luxury branding.

From System to Site: Public Reflections of My Work

While I cannot share internal design files, many of the components I helped systematize are now visible on the live Versace and Michael Kors websites. These include:

• Product cards and grids with brand-specific spacing

• Navigation elements with consistent interactive behavior

• Layout modules reused across homepage, product listing, and checkout flows

• Accessibility-minded typography and color pairings

📷 Image: Screenshot of public Versace or MK page with a caption like: "Public view of product cards using defined spacing & hover behavior"

Challenges and Considerations

Designing for luxury brands meant respecting distinct visual voices while improving structural consistency. Balancing high-fashion aesthetics with modern UX principles and mobile responsiveness was a constant but exciting negotiation.

Another challenge was the integration across multiple teams and platforms—requiring clear documentation, frequent check-ins, and diplomacy in design decisions. I often held the responsibility for a design decision, but not the final authority, so I had to condense and summarize design questions regularly and keep leadership both informed and unburdened by my work. By keeping abreast of my collaborators’ needs and strictly keeping the style guides actionable and visually rooted in each brand’s DNA, I was able to unify internal direction while respecting brand autonomy.

What I Learned

This project solidified my skills in enterprise-scale design systems, cross-functional communication, and global collaboration. I gained deep insights into:

• Implementing scalable UX across multiple brands

• Simplifying workflows downstream with pixel-perfect consistency

• Balancing aesthetics with conversion and accessibility

• Coordinating localization across visual design and content systems

  
  

Tools & Methods: Adobe XD, Zeplin, Illustrator, UX Audits, Style Guides, Responsive Design, Accessibility Standards, Stakeholder Presentations