14 DAY TRIAL // Less than half a year ago, Victoria Beckham, budding fashion designer and one of the most dedicated fashionistas there are, was making her first serious foray into the industry by launching her first frock collection. While that one was received with much skepticism by critics, her autumn/winter 2009 range will certainly make them all take back their words, several fashion-oriented publications are already predicting.
Granted, anything that comes from the hands of Victoria Beckham can’t be but heavily impregnated with and inspired by her own style, so expecting anything different would probably be madness at this point. Victoria, it has often been said, only makes items she herself would wear – and even does on occasions – so, it’s no wonder her second collection sticks to the same rule.
Yet, it does bring something different as compared to the first one, and that’s novelty and a plus of uber sophistication, marking a new stage in Posh’s development as a serious fashion designer.
Even if predictable, the latest collection branded Victoria Beckham still manages to surprise pleasantly. It includes, aside from the Spartan-cut day frocks, more youthful pieces and eveningwear. And it is in this last category that Posh actually shows that, when it comes to dressing, no one can take it more upscale than she can, and this with something so simple as a seemingly plain gown.
The elegance and style of all the frocks come from the attentive cut, and it’s only understandable that it be so since no one knows better than Victoria what best flatters a woman’s body to eliminate all the bumps and lumps. Of course, to state the obvious, the target of the collection still remains the skinny woman with a perfect hourglass silhouette, and Posh is not even trying to hide it anymore.
“There are the short, structured styles in electric violet shot silk or black, stretch, wool felt with gilt ring embroidery at the waist. There are longer, below-the-knee styles, in the same stretch wool, but in cream, or a black/pewter basket-weave, with a fold across the bust, which she reveals was partly inspired by her Vera Wang wedding dress. Others are in grey cashmere, or panels of black stretch and a shimmering gold tinsel bouclé. But they are modest in the extreme; no cleavage, no cut-outs, no transparency; often covering the knees and all with short cap or three-quarter sleeves.” The Telegraph writes in a review of the exquisite collection.
Moreover, even if priced from £850 up to £4,600 and £4,900 for the evening gowns, “there is a market” for all the items, the aforementioned source says. What with the interest public has taken in the first collection, The Telegraph is probably right on the money.
