Luxury brands have struggled to create an online presence that reproduces their carefully controlled offline positioning, but according to new research, consumers are ready for - and expect - luxury brands to innovate and develop clear online experiences.

The inherent contradiction between the ubiquitous accessibility of brands in the online world and the fiercely protected exclusivity at the heart of luxury consumer goods has to date remained an unresolved mismatch. — (Via BrandStrategy)

You can view historically how luxury websites have approached their web design via the Internet Archive Way Back Machine

Louis Vuitton, for example, has come a long way since its first web design in 1998… Visit LV 1998 website