Victoria Beckham Is Speaking Our Body Language
Review of Victoria Beckham Fall 2024 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
If a certain eccentric Irish designer and a certain Italian-Belgian co-creative director duo were to have a love-child, then that would have been today’s Victoria Beckham collection. As the British designer finds her rhythm in the city of lights her brands visual handwriting is starting to become more moulded to the city’s expectations of creating highly influential designs which deconstruct ideas around the art of dressing.
Judging by her seasonal front row and the list of A-list stars who are frequently seen wearing the brand, the Victoria Beckham woman is one that is permanently put together. But what was presented today was wholly unexpected for the creative director and we would like to see more of it. As for fall 2024, it was as if Beckham answered the call of every customer who had ever shopped her brand in a luxury department store and whose eyes had wandered across the aisle to some of the more edgy designers that, while piquing her curiosity, she never felt confident enough to try. Well now she has a way to experiment within her comfort zone.
Seeking to translate “a sense of deceptive simplicity” according to the show notes, today Beckham was thinking in the round. As what first appeared as a simple tailored blazer, when the model exited the room, what was actually revealed was a Margiela-esque level of construction trickery (the jacket was flattened as if part of a paper doll set and attached like a halter at the neck) which set the scene for what was in store with the rest of today’s collection. Her signature skinny flared trousers featured an ultra-low crutch detail, skirts and bust-lines were amplified with what one can only assume were spongey rubber tubes, blazers had up-turned hems (a lot of showing the inside-out has been a theme this season), knitwear was skewed to one side as if put on in a hurry, while the section of sheer dresses was not at all provocative or misogynistic in the way they featured strategically – and some might say thoughtfully placed – modesty panels. The wire hanger trim felt a little too similar to the one’s featured in the collection of that well-known eccentric Irish designer, but here at least they were restyled enough to pass as a new idea, referencing “the fixtures and features that surround our everyday dressing ritual” according to the notes.
THE BUZZWORDS
Directional deconstruction, from back to front, redefining the everyday
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Look #35
The wire hanger – as a symbol of everyday rituals – is used here to elevate a sheer gown and take it from provocative to thought-provoking.
THE DIRECTION
THE QUOTE
Illustrating a sense of deceptive simplicity, classic tailoring and outerwear staples transmute in forms that engineer and elevate the body language.
Victoria Beckham, creative director, Victoria Beckham
THE WRAP UP
Every season Victoria Beckham keeps us guessing as to what direction she’s going to take, and for fall 2024 it was down a rabbit hole of deceptively wearable deconstructed clothes.
