LOS ANGELES — Victoria Beckham may have moved her family back to London, but a big part of her heart is still in Los Angeles.
She and her husband, former L.A. Galaxy star David Beckham, have been in town on spring break with the kids, where they’ve been photographed hiking, surfing, taking SoulCycle classes and eating acai bowls. (The British press has been there every step of the way.)
But designing mom Victoria, 40, has managed to squeeze in some work, too, hosting a trunk show on a recent Tuesday at Barneys Beverly Hills, followed by a dinner on the terrace at Fred’s that night.
David Beckham co-hosted the starry soiree, which was attended by fashion press, stylists and several of the couple’s close friends, including Gwyneth Paltrow, David Furnish, Kate Beckinsale, James Corden, Eva Longoria and Rachel Zoe (whose kids are pals with the Beckhams’).
“I loved L.A. … I had the most incredible six years here,” Beckham said earlier in the day in the green room before her trunk show, as daughter Harper, 3, played with her My Little Pony nearby.
The former Spice Girl has been in the public eye for more than 20 years as a pop singer, wife of soccer great David, star of documentaries about their life, style icon and magazine cover model. She launched her clothing label in 2008 after several less formal forays into the fashion industry.
In seven years, Beckham has pushed her ready-to-wear past the arc of celebrity vanity project, establishing it as a mainstay on the runway at New York Fashion Week, where her modern, practical designs have earned solid reviews, despite looking a tad derivative at times.
Last year she opened her first boutique on Dover Street in London. It carries all five of her collections: runway; the main label’s casual little sister, Victoria by Victoria Beckham; denim; handbags and sunglasses. (Her first line of aviators just arrived in stores last week.) And everything is designed in-house in London.
“I spend a lot of time in the store. I love to meet my customer and hear what she wants,” she says. “That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing, because I want to empower women to be the best versions of themselves.”
The designer made her name on sleek, body-con sheath dresses with interior corsetry, waist-cinching grosgrain belts, mesh insets and other details that suck the body in and force Beckham-like good posture. But in recent seasons, she’s also added looser styles, more tailored pieces, knitwear and outerwear to broaden her reach and appeal.
The pre-spring and spring collections in stores now also feature swingy, draped dresses, sporty shifts with oversized patch pocket and cut-out shoulders, fisherman knit sweaters with lacing at the hem, and striped knit skirts, in neutral camel, navy and white, punched up with sunset orange, peach and cobalt blue.
“I always want the clothes to be flattering. … We have great fabrics and a lot of attention goes into seaming details, so everything looks great from every angle, but I also like to have something unexpected there,” Beckham says.
