Why Victoria Beckham’s latest fashion show was “a flag in the sand” for a moment.

Victoria Beckham looks back at her second runway show at Paris Fashion Week, creating a new era for her label nearly 15 years after its debut.

“I’m doing more fashion than music,” Beckham said in a phone call from London a few days after her fall-winter 2023 show in the French capital.

Still known to many beyond the fashion world as “Posh Spice”, one fifth of the Spice Girls nicknamed the popular gossip site mainstay, with famous husband David Beckham and increasingly famous children: she wed Brooklyn actress Nicola Peltz in a high-profile wedding last year. She married Romeo, Cruz and Harper.

Launched in 2008, Beckham’s brand has been warmly endorsed by the top echelons of the fashion industry (Anna Wintour is a regular guest at her shows).

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It is noteworthy that her fashion line has lasted for a long time. While Beckham has received critical acclaim during her tenure, it’s rare for celebrities to achieve success without formal design training. Even Rihanna’s ready-to-wear line, Fenty, backed by luxury conglomerate Louis Vuitton-Moët Hennessy, closed after two years (though it’s worth noting that Rihanna’s beauty brand continues to thrive).

“I think I can really, really build on it now,” Beckham said, reflecting on these milestones.

Beckham’s company recently underwent a complete overhaul on both the business and creative sides — from improved IT and digital planning systems on the back end to cost reductions (slightly) to “a new design team, a new atelier and new members in every department. If you will,” she told me.

Despite many changes, Beckham’s commitment to quality control has been unwavering for a long time: “I never want to rush anything. I think, in the end, it has to be right. I never want to compromise,” she explained.

Her oeuvre doesn’t appear to court trends, and she doesn’t work in flash or over time (perhaps undermining the expectations set by her Spice Girls persona). Her clothes combine fantasy with a different matter of reality: the Autumn-Winter 2023 look, for example, featured a layered chiffon and feather-embellished dress with a practical khaki trench. And, significantly, there is no Victoria Beckham logo or symbol placed on her stationery.

This is not to say that her brand is without a signature. Beckham’s “watch chain” accessories, a bold, shiny statement reminiscent of a chronograph wristband, are becoming popular. “It was inspired by the strap detail on a watch my husband bought me,” Beckham said. “A vintage Patek Philippe.”

The metalwork is featured front and center, on handbags from nano to jumbo sizes, along with select shoes and jewelry. The carriers caught up. From the news collection, more large sizes have been sold in pre-orders. And Beckham seems to have found a fan, perhaps, an unintended market indicator: her son, Cruz, who presented his mother with a chain-accented crossbody “Eva” bag and custom Victoria Beckham monogrammed denim.

“It’s funny because Cruise called me on the way to the show and said, ‘Mom, can I borrow your glasses?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, of course you can borrow my glasses.’ And then he said, ‘Yeah, and I’ve got this bag in your closet now,'” Beckham said with a laugh. “It was fun to have an 18-year-old kid be fascinated by this and say, ‘I want to wear it.'”

Does this mean menswear is on the horizon? “That would be a dream. Not yet. But I’ve always been inspired by menswear – you see that in the wardrobe,” Beckham said.

While menswear may not be coming soon, independent makeup and skincare brand Victoria Beckham launched Beauty in 2015. She was introduced in 2019. And she recently launched VB Body, a “permanent capsule collection” of embroidered shapewear-inspired labels, skirts and form-fitting dresses. These pieces are part of the general Victoria Beckham line but are sold at a lower price.

“VB Body was an idea I had when I was spending a lot of time in Miami,” Beckham said. She and her husband maintain a home in Florida City; David is a partner of American soccer club Inter Miami. “I find the way women dress there is very freeing in the way they want to show off their bodies and celebrate who they are. I think there’s a real confidence in that.”

Since moving her runway shows to Paris last year, Beckham has noticed a big change in editing and red carpet attention. In the year In the lead up to Fall-Winter 2023, the documentary and film “Grey Gardens” (Barrymore starred in the latter), Drew hired Barrymore for social media challenges around the set. “The story doesn’t really inspire me, necessarily,” Beckham says. “It’s more about how we can have fun with clothes.”

Such energy feels new. There is a newfound wind in Beckham’s sails. She seems more optimistic herself and this is reflected in her demeanor. “I always wore black,” she says. “And then I don’t know exactly what changed or what happened, but now I don’t wear black clothes. I like to wear color and I like to wear unexpected colors together.” (The unique use and combination of colors is another feature in Beckham’s product code.)

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What principles outside of Victoria Beckham’s beauty helped her stay the course? “Years ago,” Beckham shared, “(fashion designer) Roland Moret, who was an early mentor to me, said, ‘No matter what anyone says or what anyone tells you is the right thing, in the end, you have to go with what you think is right.’

“I’ve been thinking about this lately.” And with that, she added: “There’s a lot I want to do with my brand in fashion and beauty. And like I said, I believe I can build it now. It was about getting the business. We got back on track, which we did. And we have an amazing design team. It’s a well-oiled machine.” We have

“Everything I do is grounded in reality,” she said. “But the dream agreement was not reached.”

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