Work / Embelliv

Case study · Shopify storefront redesign

Embelliv A sneaker that earns a second look.

Hand-embellished sneakers, embroidered by hand and released in limited runs. We built the store Embelliv launched on. This is the next version of it, which stops merchandising the shoes like inventory and starts photographing them like jewellery.

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Client
Embelliv
Industry
Luxury footwear
Based in
Chicago, Illinois
Scope
Storefront redesign
The redesigned Embelliv homepage: an embroidered blush sneaker on draped silk, under the headline Walk boldly. Always.
The same homepage on a phone.
The brief

The shoes were the luxury. The store was not.

Every pair is embroidered by hand, in runs small enough that no two come out identical. That is the entire proposition, and a standard grid of product tiles throws it away: at thumbnail size, hand-set pearls look like print.

So the redesign had one job, approached two ways. Shoot the product the way the product deserves, close enough to see the metal thread and the stitch. And slow the page down, so a shopper meets the craft, the comfort and the size guidance before meeting the price.

Where this stands. The store shown as "before" is the one we designed and launched for Embelliv, and it is still live today. The redesign is captured from the build files and has not replaced it yet.

"Walk boldly. Always." Embelliv brand line

Before and after

The launch store, and the next one.

The store running today, and the redesign, captured at the same screen size. Drag the handle to compare.

After: the redesigned homepage.
Before: the homepage running today.
BeforeAfter

Homepage, top of the page.

Inside the store

Four templates, one long look.

Scroll through each page from top to bottom, or open it full size.

Full homepage: the embroidered hero, all six styles, the craft story, the bridal edit, reviews and the founders.

Homepage

Opens on one shoe, shot on draped silk at a distance where the embroidery is legible.

  • All six styles in the first scroll, no carousel
  • The embroidery shown at thread scale
  • Occasions from the everyday to the aisle
  • The three founders, near the end rather than the top
On the phone

Close enough to see the stitch.

The detail that sells this shoe is a few millimetres wide, so the phone layout gives the photography the full width.

Homepage on mobile, full length.
Homepage Six styles, then the craft
Collection page on mobile, full length.
Collection Filters in a drawer
Product page on mobile, full length.
Product page Size, fit, then price
Our Story page on mobile, full length.
Our story Founders and process
Design language

Aubergine, gold and a lot of quiet.

A light Garamond for everything that should feel written by hand, a geometric sans for everything that has to be read fast, and an ivory ground that keeps the embroidery the brightest thing on the page.

The House of Embelliv
Walk boldly. Always.

Hand-embellished sneakers made in limited runs in Chicago. Heritage embroidery, seven layers of comfort, and six styles built for the aisle and the everyday alike.

Cormorant Garamond Headings and pull quotes
Jost Body, labels and interface
Deep Aubergine#2B0F47
Purple#55198B
Gold#A07F45
Blush#E9D9CE
Ivory#F4EFE7
Interface kit

The pieces the language is built from.

Every component below is a screenshot of the build, not a mockup. One type scale, one set of hairline rules, whether it is a button or the whole filter drawer.

A gold button reading Explore the collection, used over photography.An outlined button reading Shop all six.A wide gold Add to Cart button.
Gold, outline, full widthGold carries every action that matters and is the only place the metallic appears in the interface, which is what keeps it reading as gold rather than as yellow. Outline takes the second choice.
A product card for Rise: a limited edition badge, the shoe on ivory, the name, price, description, rating and size range.
Product cardThe photograph gets a square of its own with nothing cropped into it. Underneath, six lines in a fixed order: name, price, one sentence, rating, size range, material. Every card reads the same way.
The filter drawer: size, occasion and price as chip groups, with a Show 6 results button.
Filter drawerThree questions, asked as chips rather than checkboxes: what size, what for, what budget. The button counts the results before you commit to seeing them.
The size selector: circles from 5 to 10 with 10 struck through, above the line True to size, half sizes are not offered.
Size and fitSold-out sizes stay visible with a line through them, because hiding a size only makes a shopper hunt for it. The fit note sits directly underneath, where the doubt actually happens.
A detail panel listing pearls and rhinestones, the cushioned footbed, the platform height, fit and the limited run.
Detail panelFive lines, no paragraph. Materials, comfort, height, fit, and the one that closes the sale: no two pairs are exactly alike.
A review card: five stars, a headline, the review body, and the reviewer name with a verified buyer tag.
Review cardStars, a headline pulled from the review, then the body. The verified tag sits beside the name in gold, so credibility is visible without a badge graphic.
The announcement bar: complimentary U.S. shipping and returns, handcrafted in limited runs, Chicago.The site header: navigation on the left, the wordmark centred, search, account, wishlist and bag on the right.
Announcement bar and headerThree facts above the fold and nothing to dismiss: shipping, how the shoes are made, and where the house is. Below it the wordmark sits centred with the navigation to one side, the way a fashion house does it rather than the way a theme does.
The collection toolbar: six styles on the left, filter and sort on the right.
Collection toolbarCount on the left, filter and sort on the right, and a rule underneath. With six products it could have been left out entirely, but it is the row that has to survive the catalogue growing.
What we designed

The work, at a glance.

  • Art direction and image system
  • Homepage
  • Collection template
  • Product template
  • Filter drawer
  • Size and fit guidance
  • Review layouts
  • Brand story page
  • Bridal edit
  • Mobile templates

Is your store as good as what you sell?

Tell us about your brand and your current store. We'll show you what we'd change first.

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