Courtesy of The New York Times
By: RUTH LA FERLA
VICTORIA BECKHAM talks the talk. Guiding a visitor through her fall 2010 collection, spread on a rack in her studio in Battersea, she draws out a dress recently worn by Cameron Diaz, identifying its fabric authoritatively as a metallic jacquard. Another, shapely and lavishly draped, is underpinned by domette wadding, she says, to hold its folds in place. Still another, crisp as corn flakes, was made of gazar. “Gazar, I love it,” Ms. Beckham murmurs, savoring the term like a vintage Bordeaux.
A quick study, she has mastered the argot of the cutting room with the same alacrity that has marked all her most ardent pursuits — the voice and music lessons that laid the foundations for her career as the pop idol known as Posh Spice; her marriage to the British soccer star David Beckham, an exercise in family branding; her wardrobe, engineered to show off her whippet frame and improbably lusty chest.
“I don’t do anything by halves,” she says, an edge in her voice. “If you’re going to do something, do it properly, I think. Otherwise there is no point in doing it at all.” ...
That resolve has paid off handsomely. In recent months Ms. Beckham, she of the contorted public poses, racy aphorisms and fleeting television career, has emerged as an industry force, the wily maverick of New York Fashion Week.
Written off not so long ago as a pneumatic Barbie of the hinterlands, Ms. Beckham has been a fixture in the front row at presentations like those of Chanel and Marc Jacobs. Her sinuously curvy cocktail dresses have been worn by Jennifer Lopez, Drew Barrymore and Ms. Diaz and are showcased in stores alongside luxury labels like Narciso Rodriguez and Vera Wang. “Don’t underestimate her,” said Anna Wintour, among the many editors and retailers who have embraced her, pointing out that Ms. Beckham has managed, in a scant four seasons, to shed her dubious standing as the girl least likely to succeed.
“She’s growing up,” said Ken Downing, the fashion director of Neiman Marcus, and an early advocate of Ms. Beckham’s designs. “Her knowledge of dressmaking is impressive. She understands how to bring out the best in the female form, and that’s one reason our clients are drawn to what she does.” As important, he said, “She knows how good clothes feel when they’re on. Because she has worn them.”
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A quick study, she has mastered the argot of the cutting room with the same alacrity that has marked all her most ardent pursuits — the voice and music lessons that laid the foundations for her career as the pop idol known as Posh Spice; her marriage to the British soccer star David Beckham, an exercise in family branding; her wardrobe, engineered to show off her whippet frame and improbably lusty chest.
“I don’t do anything by halves,” she says, an edge in her voice. “If you’re going to do something, do it properly, I think. Otherwise there is no point in doing it at all.” ... That resolve has paid off handsomely. In recent months Ms. Beckham, she of the contorted public poses, racy aphorisms and fleeting television career, has emerged as an industry force, the wily maverick of New York Fashion Week.
Written off not so long ago as a pneumatic Barbie of the hinterlands, Ms. Beckham has been a fixture in the front row at presentations like those of Chanel and Marc Jacobs. Her sinuously curvy cocktail dresses have been worn by Jennifer Lopez, Drew Barrymore and Ms. Diaz and are showcased in stores alongside luxury labels like Narciso Rodriguez and Vera Wang. “Don’t underestimate her,” said Anna Wintour, among the many editors and retailers who have embraced her, pointing out that Ms. Beckham has managed, in a scant four seasons, to shed her dubious standing as the girl least likely to succeed.
“She’s growing up,” said Ken Downing, the fashion director of Neiman Marcus, and an early advocate of Ms. Beckham’s designs. “Her knowledge of dressmaking is impressive. She understands how to bring out the best in the female form, and that’s one reason our clients are drawn to what she does.” As important, he said, “She knows how good clothes feel when they’re on. Because she has worn them.”
To continue reading, click here...
*Thanks to all of you who emailed me and left me comments regarding this article! :)
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