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Fendi with Alpenite

How we took a $1.5B+ luxury brand to the highest level of web accessibility

How we supported Alpenite in bringing the Fendi e-commerce experience to WCAG 2.1 AAA without compromising its premium design and interaction quality.

5 min read By Antonio Aiello, founder of AAI Consulting

Fendi luxury e-commerce accessibility project

Final outcome

The project reached an exceptionally demanding accessibility standard without flattening the brand experience.

  • AAA WCAG target achieved A rare standard in luxury commerce
  • 100% Inclusive journey Critical interactions supported across input modes
  • 0 Design compromise Premium visual quality was preserved
  • Enabled Internal team Guidance supported future maintenance

Initial challenge

Fendi required a rare level of WCAG 2.1 AAA conformance across a highly customised luxury experience. The interface relied on sophisticated components, visual detail and brand-led interactions that could not simply be removed.

  • Complex custom UI patterns
  • Strict colour, typography and interaction requirements
  • Keyboard and screen-reader barriers
  • A need to preserve the premium experience while improving inclusion

Our contribution

Alpenite engaged us as web accessibility specialists to analyse barriers, support remediation and review semantic HTML, ARIA, focus behaviour and assistive-technology compatibility.

  • Manual keyboard and screen-reader testing
  • Semantic and ARIA remediation guidance
  • Accessible interaction patterns for custom components
  • Close collaboration with design and engineering

Approach and delivery

The work combined technical audit, prioritised remediation and repeated validation. Each change was assessed against both accessibility requirements and the intended luxury experience.

The team also received practical guidance to avoid reintroducing barriers during future releases.

How we worked

  1. Accessibility audit

    Mapped WCAG gaps through automated and manual testing.

  2. Core remediation

    Corrected semantics, keyboard access, focus and ARIA behaviour.

  3. UX refinement

    Aligned accessible patterns with premium brand requirements.

  4. Validation and training

    Retested the experience and enabled the delivery team.

Project highlights

Key takeaways

  • 01

    Accessibility can reinforce excellence

    Inclusive interaction quality is consistent with a premium brand.

  • 02

    Prevention is strategic

    Early remediation reduces legal, reputational and operational risk.

  • 03

    Inclusion expands reach

    Accessible products serve more customers and improve usability for everyone.

Conclusion

Accessibility did not require Fendi to choose between compliance and a premium experience.

With close technical and design collaboration, the project demonstrated that high accessibility standards can strengthen product quality.

Tags
  • WCAG 2.1
  • WCAG AAA
  • Web Accessibility
  • Luxury E-commerce
  • Fendi

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