In an exclusive discussion with ELLE USA
Victoria Beckham dominates the Manhattan horizon—so elevated she might be mistaken for a dark-haired Faye Wray in towering heels. The Chrysler Building stands tall behind her like a sentinel, with the East River twinkling afar. Ever the supreme advertisement for her own label, Beckham dons a suit of her creation: a light green blazer featuring an eye-catching askew, purposefully upturned collar accent. Her coiffure is flawless, with hair guru Ken Paves nearby to manage any stray hairs. She’s here, high above Midtown, on level 55, to unveil her Pre-Spring 2026 collection to New York’s famous faces, and the queue of press members awaiting her is more extensive than most wedding trains.
Beckham understands how to garner interest. Initially, she rose to prominence as one of the world’s most celebrated music performers. Subsequently, following her marriage to soccer icon David Beckham, she evolved into a powerhouse couple , popularizing the term WAG (wives and girlfriends of athletes) within mass consciousness. Yet, when Victoria embarked on a designing venture in 2008, the fashion establishment remained unconvinced – after all, celebrities attempting to conquer Seventh Avenue frequently came up short. Some even expressed disdain. “Nobody,” Victoria declares, “knows this better than I do.”
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Thus, she maintained a low profile, prioritizing her efforts in spite of the distractions. That's the explanation why, 17 years and what feels like countless transformations down the line, her brand persists even as others have faltered. The collection has morphed alongside Victoria, from the figure-hugging gowns that brought her recognition to the perfectly crafted professional ensembles and the flowing evening attire she presents today.
“It’s been an odyssey,” Beckham concedes, seated in a private room where she’s continually offered cans of berry LaCroix. “My enterprise has weathered so much. And it’s all been publicly documented. Being a noted individual who’s simultaneously a brand is a precarious situation.”
Which steers us toward her most recent undertaking: the protagonist of a documentary. Beckham has undoubtedly become the main focus of the cinematic project regarding her spouse David, slated to appear on Netflix in 2023. She drew extensive notice following an episode wherein she asserted she was raised in a working-class lineage while also conceding that her father operated a Rolls-Royce — and in the aftermath of a scene featuring her and David dancing to Islands in the Stream.
Victoria is now returning to the silver screen, although this time in a Netflix documentary series concerning herself. The three-part project, helmed by Nadiya Holgren (creator of the Emmy-nominated production Becoming centered on Michelle Obama), showcases Beckham's transition from vocalist to designer and businessperson and follows her preparations as she gears up to exhibit her spring 2025 assortment in Paris.
Initially, she was hesitant to participate in the filming: “I frankly failed to comprehend why anyone would possess such interest. I adore my occupation, but I felt overwhelmed,” Victoria expresses. “Nevertheless, I genuinely reveled in the process. I’m relieved that I have the ability to showcase our operations from the inside – how critical it is.” Concurrently, it empowers her “to reflect on my trajectory and address my prior vocation to a degree without jeopardizing the brand.”
“I was merely in the Spice Girls for a quartet of years, yet I remain connected with that era. And I’ve been involved in the fashion domain for nearly a pair of decades.”
As a self-professed perfectionist, Beckham needed to submit to the editors’ authority, which she indicates was “quite liberating.” “I relinquished my vanity upon entry because when they filmed me at work, I was engrossed. I couldn’t concern myself with the cameras when I was organizing for a show: conceiving the collection, handpicking the fabrics, selecting the models. ‘Is this the appropriate flooring? Which music?’ — such an extent! Had I been compelled to focus on the cameras, I wouldn’t have accomplished anything. I thought, ‘Folks, I possess a full-time job, permit me to execute it.’”
Will the documentary yield another trending event? We shall observe. “Oh my goodness, is that with regard to that Rolls-Royce?” she chuckles. “One of our offspring even questioned, ‘How many instances have you recorded that?’ We responded, ‘Zero! It wasn’t fabricated.’” The dancing is genuine as well. “We Beckhams appreciate amusement. We enjoy investing time as a unit. We’re a considerably conventional family, far more so than individuals suppose ,” Victoria affirms, refuting conjectures of familial discord.
Within their clan, everyone consistently bolsters one another. “We invariably attend each other’s showcases, we’re unfailingly present,” Beckham conveys. And she incorporates: “I persistently strived to be the preeminent mother and spouse. We dined collectively at six o’clock — even if I was subsequently obliged to return to the workplace.” Imparting the significance of labor to her progeny is exceptionally paramount to her: “Post the latest showcase, David and the youngsters proceeded backstage, and I’ll never dismiss their facial expressions — they were so filled with pride in me!” Her guiding principle is exceedingly uncomplicated: “It’s beneficial for the children to grasp that dad is employed and mom is employed. Employment renders me the superior iteration of myself.”
She and David have sustained their relationship for 28 years, and Victoria stands convinced that the key rests in their concurrent development: “Individuals remark, ‘You’ve undergone alterations.’ Naturally! An individual is dissimilar at 50 from who they were at 20. David maintained faith in me when numerous others didn’t. He rendered financial and moral backing. When individuals derided me, when they dismissed my venture as insubstantial, he continued to believe.”
It’s challenging to envision such a flawless individual ever encountering insecurity, yet Beckham concedes to grappling with acne during her formative years. “I possessed such appalling skin that my mother’s acquaintance asserted, ‘You can’t even force a pin amid my blemishes,’” Victoria recollects. “ I was reluctant to establish eye contact, it truly eroded my self-assurance and could precipitate despair .”
In her 20s, she conceived the persona of the resolute Posh Spice, and she was then captivated by designer commodities, but lacked the means to procure them. “I venerated luxury, but I perceived it from afar. Incidentally, that “petite Gucci dress” is inaccurate. It stemmed from a mass retailer, I merely pronounced it Gucci, owing to my fervent admiration for Tom Ford at the time,” Victoria expresses with a grin (currently, Tom is a confidant of hers).
Victoria inaugurated her beauty line in 2019, and it presently vends one eyeliner each half-minute. “I formerly gained recognition on the thoroughfare as an affiliate of the Spice Girls. Currently, I am intercepted daily and inquired regarding eyeliner,” she remarks with amusement.
Her makeup instructional films have attained prominence on social networking platforms. “Individuals presume they possess a substantial cadre backing them. Yet, it’s authentically just me,” Victoria articulates. “I lately acquired a tripod on account of inquiries concerning my consistent presentation of merely one profile of my visage. And it’s simply owing to my simultaneous wielding of the camera and application of cosmetics!” she acknowledges. Moreover, she lacks a ring light.
Social platforms have facilitated the dissipation of her erstwhile “unapproachable” image. “During the '90s, there existed solely paparazzi and concocted narratives. Presently, individuals perceive the genuine me. I peruse those compositions, discern those depictions wherein I appear somber, but inwardly I am wholly distinct. I surmise that’s the impetus behind David’s desire for me to generate a documentary – to exhibit that facet.”
“I ceased attending to others’ judgments a considerable duration in the past. I prefer utilizing social media for humorous purposes and elucidating my motivations.”
She even poked fun at herself for fashion—notably a T-shirt that stated, “Fashion filched my smile.” “In actuality, fashion didn’t pilfer my smile,” Victoria asserts. “I am compelled to fabricate a novel item that proclaims, ‘Fashion elicited my smile .’ I experience immense contentment.”
And while the gratification fails to nourish the tabloids, it remains tangible. Victoria has never manifested such self-assurance. In spite of the adversities within the sector, her enterprise currently yields profitability. Numerous designers undergo analogous tribulations behind the scenes, but, as Beckham posits, “when your appellation graces the label, it embodies an ordeal.” “In the nascent stage, there circulated hearsay: is this a mere inclination, is my spouse extricating me from predicament? .. And those weren’t exclusively rumors – they constituted realities: my enterprise genuinely contended at the period.” She elaborates on these elements within a forthcoming documentary: ” I believe it marks the inaugural instance of my genuine unveiling. And there subsists a degree of vulnerability therein. There persist a pair of days remaining for filming – and that concludes it. Subsequently, the determination rests with the editor.”
The predecessor Victoria might have reciprocated diversely, yet the contemporary iteration exhibits composure: “ With maturation, the filter attenuates, and one diminishes concern. I find this appealing,” she elucidates. Notably, when Beckham graced the front page of ELLE in 2009, the editors regarded her as “excessively aged” — Victoria dwelled in her early 30s at the time. Presently, at 51 and following numerous existences, she resurfaces on the premier page.
Photographer: Dan Jackson
Styled by Alex White
Story: Veronique Hyland
Hair: Ken Paves for Rouge Artists
Makeup: Yumi Lee for Victoria Beckham Beauty
Manicure: Rika Romain for LMC Worldwide
Stage design: Jacob Burstyn for MHS Artists
Produced by Sarah Maxwell for PRODN
Clothing:
Coat, skirt, shoes — Tom Ford
Tights – Calzedonia
Jacket, bodysuit, glasses — Victoria Beckham
Dress — Dolce & Gabbana
Sconce — Fleur du Mal
Ring — Cartier
Coat — Alaïa
Gloves — Khaite
Watch — Van Cleef & Arpels
Shoes — Christen
