Victoria Beckham's Dreamy Seventies Vibe for Spring

Highlights of Victoria Beckham's new Seventies-inspired collection: a silk poplin blouse, and patchwork, flared jeans worn with a chunky, brushed gold necklace. 

From Spice Girl to soigné designer, Victoria Beckham has pursued a fashion career that has been equally lauded and lambasted. Her new Spring/Summer 2021 collection, presented in London, has a dreamy, eclectic look inspired by the 1970s, that hints at the good times beyond the pandemic, Ariana Della Rovere reports

 

Beckham's striking, cut-out dress 

in fluid Jersey.

VICTORIA Beckham had planned to have several small catwalk shows during the day for this season's London Fashion Week. Instead, she decided to present her new collection to small groups of socially distanced guests, as the numbers of Covid-19 cases escalates in the United Kingdom. 

In groups of three, they donned VB facemasks and saw the collection against a backdrop of artworks at the Victoria Miro Gallery, a former furniture factory located between Hoxton and Islington in North London. The designer thought this type of presentation was more suitable to the pandemic and its restrictions. 

For the new season's collection, Beckham ~ who hasn't been wearing the leggings or trackie pants many of us have worn during lockdown ~ had to brainstorm with her team about what to wear when working or lounging around at home.

“Limitations can be liberating," she says. "Working remotely, for this collection we reacted spontaneously. We were instinctive. We asked ourselves what has changed? Who do we want to be? What will we desire?This collection is about freedom - to explore, to dress up, to be yourself."

Instead of putting on anything with an elasticized waist, Beckham maintained her signature, minimalist look at home in vintage denim. And denim features prominently, for the first time, in the new collection. Beckham's jeans have a soft look with wide, flared legs and low waists which she mixed with flowing, silk shirts. Continuing the Seventies theme were long, fluid maxi dresses with lace inserts and bare midriffs.

Instead of wearing anything with an elasticized waist during lockdown, Beckham maintained her signature minimalist look in vintage denim

White wool tuxedo jacket,

Victorian silk blouse,

and split-hem jeans

"Eclectic is a word I keep returning to this season," Beckham explains. "It really encapsulates the [VB] woman, her attitude, her nonchalance. There are different silhouettes, different facets of dressing - coats, fluid dresses, denim and elongated trousers. 

"Hemlines are longer, fits are easier, there’s a fluidity and ease. Really, it’s about a true wardrobe. This collection is rooted in reality - in life, and living. But it’s a dream inspired by reality.” 

Because of the economic constraints of the pandemic of the past months, the label has been downsizing staff and  production costs. 

The 21 pieces in this new collection are less than half the number of last season's, back in February, when there were full-blown runway shows.

The new pieces include long, diaphanous dresses that are always a feature of Beckham's collections, this time in silk and jersey. The designer manages to make her designs wearable but with interesting details. 

"This collection is rooted in reality ~ in life, and living. But it’s a dream inspired by reality.”

Finely-tailored jackets and silk blouses add a note of formality to the jeans and voluminous blouses. Dark denim is contrasted with lighter patchwork and finished in red binding with a slit at the back. The jeans are worn with a long, white tuxedo jacket, voluminous shirt and high, banana-shaped heels (see above). This season's shoes are created from malleable Nappa leather and finished with swags of chains. They add a new note to the Beckham motifs as the designer prefers using flats for shows.  

Summery black lace and lavender

Jersey, evening dress,

Silk slip dresses with key-hole details draw attention to the waist. While the mauve, peach and leopard print gowns had contrasting lace panels, halter-necks or bows at the neck and drew attention to the back, with tie fastenings and crisscross straps. 

Colours were muted in the collection but with bright spots of vivid hues such as brilliant lavender for the summer dresses, emerald green for sharply-tailored trench coats and and orange-taupe for silk, striped blouses. 

Big circular pendants on chunky chain necklaces added to the free and easy Seventies vibe that ran through the entire presentation. 

In the past, at Victoria Beckham’s runway shows, her family has always sat in the front row during London Fashion Week. 

But this time, with Covid-19 altering her plans for a catwalk show, her family were the only guests at the first presentation. Her husband, David Beckham, and three of their four children sat in their own frow. 

Reflecting the aesthetic of the new collection, the family wore black-and-white with a bright dash of colour worn by the designer's daughter Harper, wearing a long, purple dress. Family and work merged for Beckham, as it has for everyone working during the pandemic. 

Highlights from Victoria Beckham's Spring/Summer 2021 collection

Floorlength, leopard-print camisole dress, worn with white Nappa kitten heels with chain detail.

Double-breasted, black wool tuxedo jacket with a white waistcoat and a textured, long skirt in dark navy worn with an ample, brushed gold chain and circular pendant. The red Nappa leather mules are finished with a double swag of chains. 

Liquid, draped dress with a ruched neck in a soft rose hue, that cascades down to banana-heeled shoes bordered by a chunky, silver chain. 

Patch-pocket, trench coat in cotton worn with a tobacco-hued men's style shirt in Jersey Mesh and split hem, straight-leg trousers in lime green.  

Sharply-tailored, belted trench coat in lime green worn with a cotton, silk stripe shirt and straight-leg tobacco-coloured trousers and thin, burgundy leather belt.  

Attractively-draped, long-sleeve cut-out gown in Jersey that draws attention to the current erogenous zone of fashion now ~ the waist.  

Caramel-hued, single breasted fitted blazer in wool gabardine worn with a matching, frilled sleeveless top and split-hem trousers in the same creamy-gold tones. 

 

A fluid and beautifully-draped, high-necked, smocked dress in lightweight, stretch Jersey in a soft beige.