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Victoria Beckham
Simply put: this woman's got it going on. In the tightly edited collection of day-into-night dresses and resplendent evening gowns she presented in an intimate setting Sunday afternoon, Mrs. David Beckham proved she's got the chops to sit at the adult's table--and at the head, no less. The pieces in the superb 26-look collection she narrated were an exercise in control. Inspired by the Dick Tracy era, Beckham illustrated that her new silhouette was still as much about structure as ever--albeit with a slightly looser silhouette and drape. The contrast of light and dark and feminine and masculine were underlying motifs as she softened the shoulders while, for evening, went more daring with raw edges and asymmetric collars. "It's about a real current attitude," she explained. A strapless sapphire double crepe drape back dress, meanwhile, took on the form of Martha Graham with its tuck at the bust and effortless draped back while a trompe l'oeil liquid silk/jersey dress with attached scarf was simply divine.
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Indeed, there were no signs whatsoever of any growing pains one might normally associate with a still relatively new designer. While undoubtedly a bona fide celebrity, Beckham never made reference to herself as muse--although it's clear she can't help but design with her own frame in mind. Paired with custom-created shoes by Brian Atwood and shown for the very first time with her signature sunglasses collection, the savvy genuineness of Beckham's love for her craft comes through with each utterance of word. Rich neutrals set the groundwork for the lineup, peppered with such current colors as sanguine, emerald, graphite and antique gold. "Nerdy chic," she explained of a series of draped crepe dresses. "That's where my personal style is at." Clever details peppered throughout included a classic grosgrain belt partially hidden as a corset to keep the waist solid or cut outs placed delicately under the arms just so. For fall, Beckham introduced her first-ever print in the form of a comic strip print delicately placed just so across the bodice of a pixel print gazar asymmetric column dress. "Gazar is my favorite fabric," she said.
What was so soothing about the collection was that there was a real depth of understanding of how a woman's body works. The crinoline, for example, hand-stitched around the skirt of a black stretch felt dress was done gingerly while a liquid silk jersey grosgrain embroidered floor length gown (what she'll be wearing to the Oscars, FYI) was fluid without feeling heavy-handed. A Forties-inspired rib jersey/wool twill drape skirt dress elegantly balanced the tension between top and bottom beautifully while a "little cloud dress" hand tacked and cut on a bias was a fine example of Beckham's relentless pursuit of perfection. Such ingenious details came in the form of embroidery that was in fact grosgrain ribbon rolled into little bits of pasta, according to Beckham. "That's for David and his living in Milan," she chided.
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Roland Mouret's, sorry Victoria Beckham's, designs are repeats of dresses that have been seen in decades gone by. There's no originality there.
I still love her though.
And I have to say, that the collection feels as though I've already seen it - on her... Nothing wrong about the clothes, but nothing new, either.