Victoria Beckham is towering above the Manhattan skyline, so high up you might mistake her for a brunette Fay Wray in extremely high heels. The Chrysler Building looms behind her like a bodyguard; the East River glints in the distance. Forever her best model, Beckham is wearing her own design, a sage green blazer with a charmingly off-kilter inside-out detail on the collar. Her lob is immaculate, and her hairdresser, Ken Paves, is waiting in the wings should a flyaway rear its head. She\u2019s here at the pinnacle of midtown (literally, 55 stories up) to introduce New York\u2019s boldface names to her pre-spring 2026 fashion collection, and the receiving line of big-name editors greeting her is longer than the one for most brides. <\/p>\n Blazer, bodysuit, sunglasses, Victoria Beckham. Tights, Calzedonia. Pumps, Christen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n Beckham knows something about drawing an audience. First, she became one of the biggest pop icons in the world. Then she and her soccer-star husband achieved power-couple status, helping bring the term WAG into the cultural consciousness along the way. Still, when she reinvented herself as a fashion designer in 2008, the industry maintained a certain skepticism about celebrities who dared cross over to Seventh Avenue. There were upturned noses in some corners. (\u201cNo one,\u201d she says, \u201cis more aware of that than me.\u201d) <\/p>\n So she kept her head down and focused on what she was doing, not on what she calls \u201cthe noise.\u201d That\u2019s why, 17 years and a feline allotment of lives later, her line is still around when so many have foundered. It has evolved along with her, from the formfitting dresses she became known for to the impeccably tailored office looks and gathered gowns on show today. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been such a journey,\u201d she admits, sitting down to chat in a private room, a steady stream of berry LaCroix being ferried her way. \u201cMy business has been through so much. And it\u2019s all been very public. Being the celebrity who is the brand is a double-edged sword.\u201d <\/p>\n Coat, skirt, pumps, Tom Ford. Tights, Calzedonia. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n Which brings us to her latest role: documentary subject. Beckham was arguably the breakout star of the 2023 Netflix documentary about her husband David<\/a>. She went viral for a much-memed exchange with him where she insisted she grew up working class while admitting her dad drove a Rolls-Royce\u2014as well as a scene where the two cut a rug to \u201cIslands in the Stream.\u201d Now she\u2019ll be coming to streaming once again, this time in a Netflix documentary about, well, herself. The three-part series\u2014directed by Nadia Hallgren, who helmed the Emmy-nominated Michelle Obama documentary Becoming<\/em><\/a>\u2014follows Beckham\u2019s arc from pop star to designer and entrepreneur, and shadows her as she prepares to show her spring 2025 collection at Paris Fashion Week. The documentary also touches on what drove her to become a performer, how she navigated misogynistic commentary from the tabloids and the \u201cWAG\u201d label that was affixed to her after she and David got together, and how she found her footing in the fashion industry.<\/p>\n Coat, skirt, Tom Ford. Tights, Calzedonia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n She didn\u2019t initially want to do it, telling me that David eventually convinced her to. \u201cI genuinely couldn\u2019t understand why anybody was that interested. I love what I do, but I was a bit shocked,\u201d she says. \u201cBut throughout the process, I\u2019ve really enjoyed it. I love the fact that I have an opportunity to shine a light on our industry\u2014how serious an industry it is.\u201d It also lets her, as she says, \u201creflect on the journey, and talk a little bit about the career I had before, without it being to the detriment of my brand.\u201d After all, \u201cI was in the Spice Girls for four years, and I\u2019ve been so defined by that period. I\u2019ve been in the fashion industry for almost two decades.\u201d <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c[David] believed in me when a lot of people didn\u2019t. He invested in me. At times I\u2019ve been a laughingstock, people not taking my business seriously, but he always believed in me.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/section>\n A self-described control freak, Beckham has had to cede to the whims of the cutting room, which she has ultimately found \u201cquite liberating,\u201d she says. \u201cI had to leave my vanity at the door, because every time they were following me at work, I had a job to do. I couldn\u2019t think about the fact there were cameras there, because I was preparing for a show. One minute we\u2019re creating the collection, picking the fabrics, casting the models. \u2018Is this the right flooring? What\u2019s the show music like?\u2019 There was so much going on that I had to turn a blind eye to the fact that they were there. Otherwise, I wouldn\u2019t have gotten anything done. I was like, \u2018Guys, I\u2019ve got a day job to be getting on with.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n Coat, Loewe. Watch, Van Cleef & Arpels. Heels, Christen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n Whether the documentary will inspire any more viral moments remains to be seen. \u201cOh God, the Rolls-Royce?\u201d she laughs. \u201cEven one of our children said, \u2018How many times did you film that?\u2019 We were like, \u2018No, no. It wasn\u2019t rehearsed.\u2019\u201d The dance was real, too: \u201cThat\u2019s what the Beckhams do. We like to have fun. We like to spend time all together. We\u2019re a very traditional family, much more than I think people would realize,\u201d a sentiment that contrasts with any recent tabloid speculation about friction. When I mention that I used to love seeing David and their four children\u2014who now range in age from 14 to 26\u2014front row at her London Fashion Week shows (she now shows in Paris), she says, \u201cThat\u2019s what we do. We all support each other. We always show up for each other.\u201d <\/p>\n How traditional are we talking? \u201cI\u2019ve always tried to be the best mom and wife that I can be,\u201d she says, sticking to a 6 P.M. family dinnertime throughout their childhoods, even if that meant heading back to the office afterward. Demonstrating that work ethic to her children is important. \u201cAfter my last show, I remember so vividly the kids and David coming backstage. I had just come off of my exit. And the looks on their faces when they approached me\u2014it was a real pinch-me moment, because I saw how proud they were.\u201d Her philosophy has always been, \u201cIt\u2019s healthy that the children know Daddy goes to work, and Mommy goes to work. Working makes me the best version of me.\u201d <\/p>\n Blazer, bodysuit, Victoria Beckham. Tights, Calzedonia. Pumps, Christen.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Dress, Dolce & Gabbana.\u00a0Bra, Fleur du Mal.\u00a0Ring, Cartier.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n She and David have been together for 28 years, and she credits their longevity to the fact that they\u2019ve grown alongside each other. \u201cSo often in relationships, one will say to the other, \u2018You\u2019ve changed.\u2019 Well, of course you\u2019ve changed! You\u2019re a different person when you\u2019re 20 than when you\u2019re 50,\u201d she says. \u201cHe believed in me when a lot of people didn\u2019t. He invested in me. At times I\u2019ve been a laughingstock, people not taking my business seriously, but he always believed in me.\u201d <\/p>\n It might be hard to imagine that someone this symmetrical could ever consider herself an underdog, but Beckham does. When telling me about the latest category for her beauty brand (complexion), she confesses that she struggled with acne from a young age. \u201cMy skin was so bad at one point, I remember my mother\u2019s friend saying to me, \u2018You couldn\u2019t even put a pin between [the pimples],\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cWhen I was younger, I was so self-conscious because of my skin. I didn\u2019t even want to look people in the eye. It really affected my confidence. It can make you quite depressed.\u201d <\/p>\n Jacket, bodysuit, skirt, Victoria Beckham. Watch, Van Cleef & Arpels. Heels, Christen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n When she reinvented herself in her 20s as the unshakably confident Posh Spice, she was more a fan of designer clothes than she was a customer. \u201cI couldn\u2019t afford to buy them, but I had a respect for, and an interest in, luxury,\u201d she says, adding, \u201cBy the way, the \u2018little Gucci dress\u2019 was never a little Gucci dress. It was from a high street store, and I said it was a Gucci dress,\u201d because she was such a fan of Tom Ford\u2019s work at the time. (He\u2019s now, of course, a friend.) <\/p>\n She founded her beauty line in 2019. Today, she sells an eyeliner every 30 seconds. \u201cPeople used to stop me on the street and talk to me about being in the Spice Girls,\u201d she says. \u201cNow, every day, people talk to me about the eyeliners.\u201d <\/p>\n Dress, Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n Beckham\u2019s social media beauty tutorials have become a hit. People think \u201cthere\u2019s quite a big production that goes on behind those videos. And it is\u2026me,\u201d she admits. \u201cI only recently got a tripod, because people were wondering why I was only showing one side of my face. Reason being, I\u2019m holding the camera, I\u2019m talking, and I\u2019m using this hand to actually do the makeup!\u201d she says, waving her hand frantically. She adds, somewhat unbelievably, that she doesn\u2019t even own a ring light. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGetting older is\u2014actually, there\u2019s a side of it that\u2019s really great. The filter comes off, and you give a shit less.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/section>\n Social media has been a boon when it comes to defrosting her once-chilly image. Back in the \u201990s, \u201cthere were paparazzi shots and the narratives the media was telling.\u201d Now, people get to see the real, unmediated Victoria. \u201cI would read those stories, and I would see those pictures of me looking quite grumpy. But there\u2019s very much a different person inside. I think that\u2019s another reason why David was keen for me to do the documentary, to show that. I mean, I gave up worrying what people thought about me a long, long time ago. But I love using social media to have fun, and also to explain the \u2018why\u2019 in regard to my brand.\u201d <\/p>\n She\u2019s also poked fun at herself via fashion, with slogan T-shirts like the one that says, \u201cFashion stole my smile.\u201d \u201cFashion never stole my smile,\u201d she says now. Then, to her publicist: \u201cI should do a new T-shirt. Can you remind me? \u2018Fashion made me smile.\u2019 I feel very content.\u201d <\/p>\n Coat, Loewe. Watch, Van Cleef & Arpels. Heels, Christen.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Contentment may not be what fuels the tabloid machine, but it feels great. And Beckham has never seemed so confident. Amid so much industry turmoil and so many ups and downs for her brand, her business is profitable, she tells me proudly. (As a privately held company, it does not report results.) Many designers get to go through those challenges outside the spotlight, but \u201cwhen my name is on the label, then that is news,\u201d she says. \u201cThere were rumors right at the beginning: Was this a vanity project, was my husband bailing me out?\u2026That wasn\u2019t about opinion. That was fact. My business was struggling.\u201d It\u2019s something she discusses in the upcoming documentary. \u201cI suppose I have really opened myself up for the first time, and there\u2019s a vulnerability there. I\u2019ve got two more days left of filming, and then my job\u2019s done. Over to the editor.\u201d <\/p>\n A past Victoria might not have been so easygoing, but \u201cgetting older is\u2014actually, there\u2019s a side of it that\u2019s really great. The filter comes off, and you give a shit less. I\u2019m really enjoying that,\u201d she says. In fact, she tells me slyly, when she shot her last ELLE cover back in 2009, the powers that be at the time almost deemed her too old to appear. She was then in her 30s. Now, at 51 and several lifetimes later, she\u2019s back on the front page. Coat, Ala\u00efa. Gloves, Khaite.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n Lead image credit: Coat, top, skirt, Ala\u00efa. Gloves, Khaite. <\/em><\/p>\n Hair by Ken Paves at Rouge Artists; makeup by Yumi Lee and Francesca Abrahamovitch for Victoria Beckham Beauty; manicure by Rica Romain at LMC Worldwide; set design by Jacob Burstein for MHS Artists; produced by Sarah Maxwell at PRODn.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"victoria](\"https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/elm100125wlvictoriabeckham-012-68c1b425f0d89.jpg?resize=2048:*\" "\\"victoria")
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