Fashion house Vivienne Westwood swapped administrative friction for creative freedom

At Vivienne Westwood, a global fashion house built on creativity and movement, managing employee expenses across regions required speed, clarity and coordination. Facing tight timelines and complex internal dynamics, the organisation partnered with Emburse to modernise expense reporting.

The result: a streamlined, simplified process rolled out globally, on time, and ready to support the company’s most recent transformation.

Challenge

In a business defined by global movement—fashion shows, supplier visits, retail operations and executive travel—the role of a travel manager is constant orchestration.

For Paolo Zucca, Travel & Mobility Manager at Vivienne Westwood, the challenge wasn’t just managing travel, but what happens after the trip: expenses, approvals and reporting — all across a distributed organisation with evolving needs.

And for the organisation, the stakes were high. A new expense reporting system needed to be rolled out across the entire group, aligned between IT teams and UK operations, and delivered under tight deadlines.

Key challenges included:

Coordinating a global rollout across multiple regions and stakeholders
Managing tight implementation timelines across IT and business teams
Training employees at scalewhile maintaining operational continuity
Navigating complex internal processes and organisational nuances
Replacing fragmented systems and expense reporting workflows

This was a transformation initiative—one that had to land cleanly, quickly and globally.

Why Emburse

Vivienne Westwood needed a partner who could move at their pace: fast, precise, and aligned with real-world complexity.

They chose Emburse for its ability to simplify something that’s often made overly complex: expense management. Just as importantly, Emburse brought a human, pragmatic approach to implementation, meeting the team where they were and guiding the process forward.

From day one, the partnership focused on execution: clear communication, hands-on support, and a shared commitment to getting it right.

“Despite the tight deadlines… we managed to meet them, provide training to all employees, and roll out the project… with very positive results.” — Paolo Zucca, Travel & Mobility Manager at Vivienne Westwood

Solution Highlights

With Emburse, Vivienne Westwood moved to a more streamlined and scalable way of managing expenses:

Unified expense reporting across the global organisation
Streamlined workflows to reduce friction for employees and approvers
Structured training program enabling company-wide adoption
Coordinated rollout aligned across IT and regional teams
Dedicated implementation support to ensure on-time delivery

The result was a more intuitive way to manage spend across the business.

Human-Centred Business Impact

In fashion, speed and creativity drive everything. Administrative friction slows both.

By simplifying expense management, Vivienne Westwood has given its teams back time to spend on design and collaboration. For travel managers, finance teams, and employees alike, the shift is subtle but powerful: fewer obstacles, clearer processes, and more confidence in how spend is managed.

Today, the impact is felt in the daily rhythm of work. Paolo no longer chases receipts or navigates inconsistent processes; instead, the focus has shifted to coordination, visibility and control.

Key outcomes include:

Successful global rolloutdelivered on tight timelines
Full employee training completed ahead of 2026 readiness goals
Simplified expense reporting across the organisation
Better alignment between IT and business stakeholders
Strong internal adoption and positive early results

For Vivienne Westwood, Emburse represents a foundational step towards broader operational simplification.

Emburse’s team brought a pragmatic, hands-on approach to understanding the realities of Vivienne Westwood’s internal environment and adapting accordingly. That combination of expertise and adaptability helped ensure the rollout wasn’t just successful, but sustainable.