Most of us would don track pants and trainers to get around on a broken foot. Not so Victoria Beckham. On the morning of her autumn/winter 24 show in Paris, the designer is confidently balancing in one stiletto - the other foot set firmly on the ground in a cast after an accident two weeks ago - resting on matte black crutches, occasionally pointing at the rails with them. 'I’m finding these very empowering,' she quips during a collection preview. Has the temporary handicap stopped her from working on the collection? 'No, if anything I’ve spent more time in the studio, because there’s nothing else to do. I’m just being positive, and it’s a great arm workout,' she laughs.
And it shows. Beckham has been hard at work and despite an economically challenging fashion landscape, business is thriving. Last year - 15 years after founding her namesake label - the company reported profits at last. 'Fashion in its own right has turned profit and beauty is doing incredibly well. I’m really proud,' she says. 'And now we can really start building the house that I’ve always dreamed of - I’m very happy,' she continues. Success beckons, largely on the account of her best-selling bags, logo belts, recently launched perfumes and her covetable make-up range.
A safety net that’s given her the confidence to present showgoers with an uncomplicated and assertive collection in the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild on Friday night, featuring elevated wardrobe classics you’d expect to find in her own closet. 'I love that I can create clothes that I desire and want to wear myself,' which echoes her stance on the lack of female creative directors at the big fashion houses. 'I’ve always been a girl’s girl. All of my friends are women and I love interacting with my community and creating what I believe women want to wear.'
There was no textbook inspiration behind this season’s collection, nor a movie that informed the look and feel. Instead, Beckham took the wardrobe 'in a literal sense.' Elongated trousers with a drop-crotch, ski-inspired zip tops, serious duffel coats and swishy dresses explore core brand codes, but are evolved into more complex designs with construction details that give the illusion of clothes still dangling from a hanger.
Business savvy as Beckham is, her successful 'B' logo has become omnipresent, now emblazoned on more of her products, such as zips and bags. There are of course new additions to the bag roster, too, including a briefcase inspired by one she bought David last year in Tokyo, and a delectable selection of tasseled shoes, vertiginous and flat (note: flat for Beckham equates to flatforms). Did she at least have the opportunity to wear the shoes before the accident? 'The accident happened exactly two weeks ago. So I could wear them ahead of this,' she says. 'I’m looking forward to getting in them and to get out of this boot I must say. It’s not the most attractive but I have about another five weeks.'
Leave it to the multi-hyphenate to style out even a medical boot. Despite having grown fond of leggings and kitten heels (and the occasional trainer), as she admits, this week business comes first, and business requires a stiletto. And if this collection proves one thing, then it's that not even a broken foot can shake her balance. She’s found her feet on the Paris Fashion Week schedule among the industry’s greatest - and she’s not going anywhere.