There was a time at the height of the ‘wag’ pandemic, that I
never thought I would be writing about Victoria Beckham in terms of five
successful years in the fashion industry. Yet the former Spice Girl shed her
old image as successfully as she shed those infamous hair extensions, and
hushed even the harshest of critics with her first catwalk outing in 2008.
Having
found her true calling (let's face it, she was always more enthusiastic about fashion than pop music), this incredibly hard-working fashion devotee is celebrating almost half a decade in the business.
She certainly knows a thing or two about silhouettes and creating the kind of unpretentious,
feminine clothes that women want to wear – possibly thanks to her own
Roland Mouret obsession – and her latest ready-to-wear collection is yet more
evidence of this.
Victoria's AW13 collection shown at New York Fashion Week on Sunday was a lesson in contrasts. The sixties style dresses had short hemlines and high necks, while the calf-length
pencil skirts featured seductive slits that kept things just the right side of demure.
A palette of black, charcoal and inky blues let the clean lines do the talking
but was punctuated at times with flashes of regal purple or lemon yellow.
Skinny waist-cinching belts created sleek shapes, balancing the more voluminous pieces and bell sleeves. The makeup and hair was
minimal and the accessories were spot on, with oversized structured handbags
and fabulous Manolo Blahnik pointed booties. This collaboration with the king of footwear is clearly a
proud moment for Victoria, who says in this month’s Elle:
“The fact that I’m working with him now on the shoes for my
ready-to-wear is a dream come true. I mean, who’d have thought? If you’re going
to make shoes, who do you want to collaborate with? Duh. Manolo Blahnik right?”
Duh indeed!
Standout pieces included an oversized men’s style check coat
and YSL inspired smoking number with clever slit sleeves. The diffusion line, Victoria, Victoria Beckham is also worth
checking out; it is hugely accessible but still very much in keeping with the
Beckam aesthetic.
Victoria Beckham has very much found her fashion feet, and as well as demonstrating the power of understated chic, she has taught us all another valuable lesson – when it comes to fashion, leave your preconceptions at the door. Although really we should have foreseen this career success, after all she was the only Spice Girl smart enough to avoid Buffalo trainers like the plague....
Images from style.com
@victoriabeckham
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