Victoria Beckham set aside the cat prints and Peter Pan collars that once characterised her Victoria brand in favour of an autumn collection of more grown-up looks. Her show notes heralded a new, androgynous feel. While some of the same masculine touches that infused her mainline collection showed up here, really it was just less overtly playful, and a lot more realistic.
That began with Beckham's autumnal palette: grey, black and navy, winter berries. But the main idea rested in the construction. What looked like shirt-and-skirt hook-ups were actually one-piece dresses engineered to have an outfit feel. A wine-red sweater and skirt combo, and another outfit with glossy polka dots revealed themselves as unified looks when the models turned a corner, displaying VB's signature full-length zips down the backs. These were styled-up looks with zip-and-go ease.
'It's the first time that it's actually looked like jumpers and skirts,' Beckham said backstage after the presentation. 'So you don't have to think about it. You can literally get in, zip up and go, effortlessly really cool.'
It's a wearer-friendly approach straight from the imagination of the busy mother of four.
'They're clothes that I want to wear,' she said. Plenty of clients share that desire, judging by the brand's expanded handbag offering, and newly added jewellery and knit hats.
'Each season we try to take it to the next level.... The more collections that we do, and the success of the collections, means that we can introduce more fabrics, which is really great.'
