2022 has, even by her own standards, been a very big year for Victoria Beckham. She launched the VB Body line of superlative nip-and-tuck shapewear earlier this year; later this month she’ll show on-schedule at Paris Fashion Week; oh, and there was a little family wedding - and global Grazia covers - already this year. Will Beckham slow down now? No way. Instead, today she (finally) launches her eagerly-awaited bag collection.
‘Handbags are such a key part of a woman’s wardrobe so it’s something we didn’t want to rush in to,’ she told us. ‘We’ve always given careful consideration to each extension of the VB brand, giving them their own space to grow, from the launch of ready-to-wear in 2008, through to eyewear in 2009 [and] VB Beauty in 2019’. The Paris show is a big deal for the designer. ‘We felt that it was the perfect time to launch our leather goods collection alongside such an important moment’.
What to expect? All the polished practicality of her clothes. Sleek, sophisticated, quiet statement makers, each bag will slot effortlessly into modern women’s wardrobe. The kind of women who want glamour, yet also want accessories that work as hard as they do. The kind of women like Beckham.
Obviously, she is her own best inspiration, and has already been teasing the bags for months. In Paris in March: the black leather bucket bag and the chain-strap burgundy clutch (a black version also got an outing at the Jacquemus show in June). ‘Practicality and design are both really important to me, handbags need to be beautiful but still work for my lifestyle; I like to carry an entire sack of make-up with me!’
Details are considered, and with a personal touch. Take the chunky chain hardware on those pleasingly capacious clutches which ‘draws on the jewellery from my spring/summer 2022 collection, originally inspired by a watch I received as a gift from David’. She also loves the graphic opening on the Frame Bucket Bag. ‘[It’s] so chic – it looks like two ‘Vs’ – and the belt-buckle detailing on the strap of the slouchy shoulder style is the same buckle as on our classic ready-to-wear belts’. Showing off her excellent command of colour, a muted palette is off-set with zippy, slightly ‘off’ shades, like lilac and grass green. And you’ll also find her recently introduced monogram on jacquard half-moon and bucket styles.
The paradox about bags is that despite their functionality and necessity, for many women they are a highly emotional purchase – often the first grown-up fashion buy many of us make. Beckham of course gets that. ‘My first real investment was a Louis Vuitton handbag which I bought in the early days of the Spice Girls - it was my treasured possession and was a big deal for me to be able to buy it for myself,’ she explains. ‘I can also remember my very first Hermes bag, we were living in Madrid in 2004 and David bought it for me as a gift. It is a beautiful tan Birkin which, of course, I still have and carry today; it truly has stood the test of time’. So too will hers.
The latest chapter in the VB story begs the question: is she a shoe or a bag girl? ‘I think you all probably know I’m both,’ she says. ‘Why make a girl choose?!’
The Victoria Beckham bag collection, from £450, available now at victoriabeckham.com