by The girl from Goff’s Oak in Hertfordshire has certainly come a long way since her early declaration that she wanted to be as famous as Daz Automatic. This year is a significant one for Victoria Beckham. Thirty years after the Spice Girls formed, twenty-five years after she married footballer David, the doting mother-of-four is entering her sixth decade in triumphant style.
Her eponymous fashion label – 16 years old was healthy, even hit profit. In 2022 his income rose 44 per cent to £58.8 million, which is not bad for someone who, after leaving the Spice Girls, thought it was a good idea to team up with songwriter Dane Bowers.
Out of her mind? Perhaps, but it’s always admirable that Beckham charted her own course, which might make it easy for some to laugh. But looking at his back catalog you can’t deny his Midas touch. She’s been keeping us seriously entertained ever since she marked her metier as Posh, the pout-faced, pock-faced little black Gucci dress (Tom Ford era).
It was hard to watch last year’s Netflix documentary, ostensibly David’s project, without catching a glimpse of the people who worked hard and got even harder; who was every change of life and dress we had and we were afraid to be him, who made fun of us and teased us but in the end.
Of course, Beckham gave the best moments of all but it was David who pointed out that she came from a working class background that made the viral meme moment of the series. Ever the entrepreneur, it’s now possible to buy slogan T-shirts in his shop with “David’s Wife” and, of course, “My Dad had a Rolls-Royce” (mine for a not-too-scary £110 at victoriabeckham. com).
Her sense of humor never strayed far from the surface and there was always a sense of triumph behind everything she did. The LA Posh blonde – stunning in Barbie pink, (years before Margot Robbie slid down her plastic slide) Roland Mouret and coordinating Hermès Birkin bag (rumored to own over 100 of the haute It bags worth £2 million of them) was pure tabloid tease.
At that point, in terms of fashion, her stock was low. The appearance of the Baden-Baden Wag-era era left a mark on the industry; Her earliest attempts to establish herself as a style force came through licensed collaborations focusing on tacky -diamanté jeans from Rock and Republic, oversized sunglasses and a smart celebrity fragrance. But with her keen sense of humor, she understood more about the fashion industry than she did at the time.
While she may have abandoned her pop star antics (a Spice Girls reunion is rumored for later this year, but details are scarce so far) she has taken the lesson set by Madonna et al heartily – that constant reinvention is the key to longevity.
The Beckham era went happily from Hertfordshire’s finest to Old Trafford, from flouncy boho in Madrid to Hollywood glitz in LA. Now happily settled somewhere between west London, legging-clad-mum, country hammers in the Cotswolds to leaning into the flash in Miami, she’s nothing if not versatile (she’s even been photographed wearing flats).
Her first step to scouring the catwalks was teaming up with Marc Jacobs, posing as herself by sitting in one of his carrier bags in a campaign shot by Juergen Teller. It was a genius move, a cool baptism. When she came to launch her label in 2008 – brunette hair back to brunette – it was almost like an act of confrontation. She humbly presented 10 dresses to small groups of fashion journalists at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. The editors came away with disarming news – they liked what they saw.
From the beginning, the line faced accusations of copycat designs. Beckham was an outspoken fan of Roland Mouret – then king of the Galaxy bodycon dress. There were murmurs it was behind the dresses, which followed a similar aesthetic. In reality, Mouret was not involved but Beckham hired two women from his atelier. Speaking in 2016, she said: “I’m very grateful to Roland. If it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have met Mel or Tracy, but he never had anything to do with the collections. I knew what everyone was thinking and what the whispers were. Of course I knew.”
Beckham’s attitude towards the fashion press has always been open. She is no snob. Their small performances in New York slowly turned into full shows where the Beckham clan sat in rows. Before each one she would do (and still do) previews where Beckham herself, often face-to-face, would talk about the collection with journalists on tight deadlines.
Her skill is understanding the family size to be compared to collection data. In the early days there was often a flash of his iPhone showing pictures from his summer holidays, always just enough to satisfy the demands of the news desks line after line. She made sure she remembered you from season to season, commenting on a new haircut or shoe.
When I interviewed her at her home in Holland Park she was warm and welcoming, but as with anything Beckham-led there is always a sense of yes but no. Are you playing it? I walked into the kitchen to VB and she sat there PR with a mug of tea each, one moniker V the other B. She ate a bowl of pomegranate seeds while we chatted, a tin full of custard cream without particular attention until Harper scooted in. after a piano lesson to grab a few. Her mother gave her a banana to no avail. There was just enough juice to make a good piece – which was just another normal family on a weekday afternoon except later that day Beckham was flying to Ethiopia with the UN.
By the time she opened her three-floor Dover Street store in 2014 – designed by Farshid Moussavi with Damien Hirst in the personal shopping area – she had cemented her role at the heart of the fashion industry, winning two British Fashion Awards for best brand (in 2011 and 2014). She may have dropped out of the opening party, but everyone loved her for it. Her confidence led her to take her show to London Fashion Week before the post-pandemic moved on again to Paris, where she has taken up residence in Karl Lagerfeld’s elegant old mansion on the Left Bank.
Although the company has historically languished in the red, its business plan has recently triumphed; going back to one collection at a reduced price point alongside her successful beauty and TikTok Mrs B breaking videos. One thing that has never diminished is its central focus from the founder — someone who is involved at every level.
The latest show in Paris was the perfect confirmation that she was on her mind in search of glamorous glamor — whether a Peta invasion or an unsightly black boot (as a result of a broken leg in a gym bra) would stop Beckham from her full catwalk bow. construction. ? It wouldn’t be much.
As usual, next week her first high street collaboration with Mango will undoubtedly go down. Speaking to French Vogue last year she said: “When I look at big houses, I get stars in my eyes. My dream is to create a big house. I won’t name any, at the risk of being arrogant, but I want to point out, as humbly as possible, that I have many ambitions.”
It is clear that Beckham is 50 years old.
