Couture Living

The parent company had been running an up-market contract furnishing business for a number of years, supplying exclusive four and five star hotels, all over the world, with bespoke ‘feature’ curtains using the finest quality fabrics, traditional craftsmanship and delivering exemplary service. The brief was to create a brand name, look and feel and visual and verbal tone of voice, for an e-commerce website to appeal to the more discerning consumer curtain buyer. The vision was to create a user experience that replicated walking into an independent high-end curtain retailer, or the curtain department of a quality department store, with all of the attentive support, advice and professional guidance.

In a crowded market with e-commerce curtain websites with brand names such as curtainscurtainscurtains.co.uk, curtains-2go.co.uk, and 247curtains.co.uk, there was a need to create a brand name that immediately differentiated the brand and product offer. The name had to clearly communicate the offer of high quality, made to measure, designer fabric curtains, with unique features such as a measure-make-and fit service and a 3D visualisation of the selected curtains in situ. Our brief was to also ensure that the brand name was future-proof, in the sense that it didn’t restrict the product offer to curtains, but could also accommodate the introduction of other furnishings and furniture. After the usual trials and tribulations of creating a long list, short list and jumping through the legal hoops of trade registration, the brand name of ‘Couture Living’ was recommended and adopted with the new url of coutureliving.com. The visual look and feel we created has an elegance and strength that creates a reassuring environment of tranquillity and professionalism. The copy treats the reader with respect, whilst providing every possible assistance and guidance, to ensure that each interaction leads to selecting the product that meets their aspirations and expectations.

The lead messaging is just three words, ‘British Made, Handcrafted’. It was validated by the brand story of highly skilled craftspeople who care about and deliver the concept of ‘extreme quality’. The narrative references the heritage of the company, with curtains and blinds gracing luxury London apartments, sublime Maldivian beach homes, five star hotels and high-end cruise liners. The visual environment features stylish room sets showing off the product to its best advantage, combined with a seamless website navigation that simplifies what can be a complex process of fabric selection, curtain features, measurement and other optional specifications.

The Couture Living e-commerce website speaks for itself. It meets the demanding brief of replicating the high-end retail experience, online. It’s still early days but initial sales are encouraging. However there’s no question that the all-important foundations of brand authenticity and user experience have been laid, for a highly successful entry into a very competitive market.

coutureliving.com