Let it not be said that Victoria Beckham is high maintenance. Just look at her AW25 show at Paris Fashion Week, which ended with a bathrobe. Ok, it was a VB monogrammed bathrobe reworked as a pussy-bowed smoking jacket but, still.
That look was ‘a little bit of a cheeky wink at my makeup tutorials,’ she said backstage post-show, in between congratulatory hugs from David, Harper, Romeo and Cruz. Cheeky winks are something of a Beckham signature. She excels at slightly off, bizarre little touches – be it a deliberately oversized shoe (note, not the same as a too-big shoe; there were interior constructions holding the foot in place), inflated tubular hem or Victoria Beckham Beauty perfume bottle charms dangling from bags, ideas she took for a spin in this collection.
FIND OUT MORE ON ELLE COLLECTIVE
Read Next
Overall, the collection had a haphazard quality. That’s a compliment. It was an elevated take on the way most women dress; with improvisation and instinct, a bit of this, a bit of that, things thrown together or grabbed in haste (and possibly chucked into the new jumbo bucket bags).
It was about eschewing the rigidity of perfection for the joy of happy accidents. So there was borrowed-from-the-boys tailoring (‘like you’re putting your boyfriend’s trousers on and you’re looking in the mirror and then you do this’ she said mimicking cinching in a baggy waistband), shrunken knits and sensuous, fluid evening dresses ruched around wired holes inspired by the work of artist Lucio Fontana.
‘This collection was really rooted in a reality, but always really considering every, single detail,’ Beckham, who wore her hair tucked into a black rollneck, tailored black trousers and pointed white pumps, explained. ‘It’s all about the execution. Making things look so effortless but everything is so considered’.
This innate understanding not just of what women want to wear but of how they actually get dressed speaks to the juggling act of modern life – of commitments, diaries, roles. Beckham gets it because she lives it: designer, makeup mogul, mother, businesswoman and soon-to-be Netflix star. Still, she is not immune to the post-show frazzle.
‘It gets to this time [and] I can barely string a sentence together,’ she laughed. So, was Beckham planning on letting her hair down post-show? ‘I really am, I really am, I really am’. No doubt she’ll be styling out the morning-after bathrobe better than anyone else.
ELLE Collective is a new community of fashion, beauty and culture lovers. For access to exclusive content, events, inspiring advice from our Editors and industry experts, as well the opportunity to meet designers, thought-leaders and stylists, become a member today HERE.
