Gotta give it to Victoria Beckham. After breaking her foot at the gym (“I tripped,” she said of the accident), there she was on crutches, walking the length of the runway at her fall 2024 show in Paris, even stopping mid-turn to give her husband David a kiss.
And that was after PETA protesters caused a ruckus during the first looks, sending their security guards running.
Beckham is made of tough stuff. As one commenter on my Instagram said, “She works out harder than David.” She is also very funny, feminine and self-deprecating. His fashion collection of hers? That's more of an enigma.
In recent years, she has done ballet choreography, British countryside, lingerie looks, latex, dresses for Hollywood stars, university students, hair as texture, fringes as texture, romantic transparencies, plus size and fitted. But what does the Victoria Beckham fashion brand represent? What are her signatures, besides the “B” logo on belts and bag closures? Determined.
She constantly talks about the concept of a wardrobe, which this season was a literal wardrobe where you keep your clothes on hangers. This caused sharp lines on the shoulders of beautiful peacoats; blazers suspended from the neck and leaning forward that could be worn with or without arms in the sleeves, dropped trouser silhouettes, “mushroom” knits and starched shirt collars accessorized against bare skin.
In addition to these more conceptual styles, there were also more classic pieces, including leather jackets with extreme stand-up collars (to keep the paparazzi at bay, or PETA protesters, perhaps), turtleneck ski sweaters with zipper pulls logo and puffy parachute dresses, some cinched at the waist with abstract wire brooches inspired by Picasso's light drawings, she said. (Art was another common thread; a Julian Schnabel painting hanging in the Beckham home informed the darker color palette.)
While this was a more elevated collection from the designer with some really standouts, particularly in the outerwear and knitwear departments, it seemed to draw inspiration from others. Now that the beauty category has boosted Beckham's business to net sales of €100 million, it is to be hoped that he can make up his mind and develop a more palpable design language of his own.
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