Victoria Beckham is living the dream right now. She’s just shown her autumn/winter 23 collection at Paris Fashion Week, her family are in town (‘Brooklyn is here as well so I am emotional’ she says, visibly welling up) and her eponymous brand has hit a long-awaited milestone, turning profitable for the first time in fourteen years, according to a new interview given by the company’s private equity investor, NEO Investment Partners.
‘I feel great. I’ve got an amazing team, an amazing CEO, great investors - it’s a really exciting time. Beauty is doing well, everything is falling into place,’ she said at a collection preview this morning. Dressed in high-waist black tailored trousers, a cream roll-neck sweater and a pair of the brand’s curved black platform shoes (‘I do like to wear-test everything and it’s been the ultimate test, getting up at 4 in the morning and traipsing up and down the Eurostar in these,’ she laughs), it’s a visibly confident Beckham. While last season - her Paris Fashion Week debut and first show in 3 years post pandemic - was an emotional experience, Beckham has clearly hit her stride as a designer with an innate understanding of what her customer wants. She proudly notes that one of her handbags recently sold out within an hour at Dover Street Market, and now has a waiting list. ‘I thought it would take a lot longer to have a hit bag.’
The designer showed her playful sense of humour for her sophomore collection at Paris Fashion Week. Among the line-up of monochrome suiting, high-waist wide leg denim - coated in resin to create a sharp knife pleat - were Grey Gardens-inspired silk and feathery dresses with hairy accessories made from acrylic hair strands. An all-in-one pair of trousers and boots in patent croc leather nodded to Beckham's signature glamour.
‘It’s a little bit eccentric - I always want to dream. [The collection is] rooted in reality - which you see in the denim and tailoring - but it’s a little bit more eclectic. There's definitely an element of playing dress up.’ Exaggerated shoulders, an emerging trend at Paris Fashion Week this season, is fast becoming a VB signature, with sharp shoulder pads added to both the tailoring and dresses. ‘Every season is looking at tailoring and asking how to do something new and fresh. It always starts with what I am desiring myself. And I am really feeling a strong shoulder at the moment.’
Beckham was cheered on by an audience including Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Eva Longoria. 'You can really see how the community is evolving - you just need to look at Instagram to see the number of pictures we are posting of women who are wearing our pieces and the editorial we are being featured in,' said Beckham. Plus, in what may finally draw a line under rumours of a 'family feud’, the extended Beckham clan - David, Brooklyn, Nicola, Cruz and Harper - were a picture of unity on today’s FROW. ‘Harper designed her outfit for the show today - she had a very clear vision of a trouser suit that she wanted to wear with a pair of my Jordans. Cruz designed his own outfit to wear as well,' said Beckham.
‘I suppose I do feel a bit more pressure, because its Paris and it’s the dream, but I embrace that and always think it’s about challenging the team and pushing yourself.’