Victoria Beckham has revealed she wouldn’t go into the fashion industry knowing what she knows now after her experience launching her eponymous brand.
The 50-year-old fashion designer told Nicole Kidman during an interview for Vogue Australia that she was “naive and innocent” when she started working at her label.
The mother of four admitted that if she had known what it would be like, she might not have had the “courage” to undertake the same journey today.
In January it was revealed that her once-ailing brand, Victoria Beckham, is finally turning a substantial profit 17 years after it was launched.
Speaking about her first experience with the brand at Vogue, she said: “It was always my passion to be in the world of fashion and beauty. I’d obviously been in the Spice Girls. I took a risk, and there was an innocence and a naivety. If I’d known then what I know now, I might not have had the courage to do it, but I didn’t really know anything about the industry. I came into fashion in a very honest and humble way.
Victoria Beckham has revealed she wouldn’t go into the fashion industry knowing what she knows now after her experience launching her eponymous brand (pictured, 2022)
The 50-year-old fashion designer told Nicole Kidman during an interview for Vogue Australia that she was “naive and innocent” when she first started working on her fashion label.
‘I just wanted to create clothes that I couldn’t find on my own… And now, after 17 years, we are proud to say that fashion itself is profitable, and for a ready-to-wear brand and an independent brand to be able to say that is a great achievement…
“And now we are building. I have worked for many years on the foundations and now I can start building the house I have always dreamed of. We have fashion that is not just ready-to-wear, but we also have bags and shoes, we have beauty, which is a huge success in itself, and now I have fragrances, which for me are the halo of the brand. Now, that makes us a real house.”
In October, the designer told Vogue France that the brand had finally turned a profit, more than a decade after launching her own fashion label.
“This is just the beginning. I have a lot of ambitions and I work hard to achieve my goals. I never expect things to fall from the sky,” she said.
“It’s a very exciting time. We’ve made a profit this year! This takes time, especially for an independent brand. My perfume is not a license, it’s mine.
“Now that I’ve laid the groundwork for the house, the real work can begin.”
In an interview with industry magazine Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) in March to celebrate the news, her brand’s investor, David Belhassen, shed rare light on the inner workings of Victoria’s empire.
He said revenues rose a massive 42 per cent to £58m and predicted that when the company filed accounts for the 2022 financial year in December, the former Spice Girl would make her many critics eat their words.
The mother of four admitted that if she had known what it would be like, she might not have had the “courage” to undertake the same journey today (pictured, February 2024)
In January 2023, Victoria Beckham Holdings Ltd’s accounts revealed losses of £5,887,036 in 2021, down from £8,581,944 in 2020.
The figure meant total losses for the company amounted to £66.3m since its launch in 2008 and the company’s directors, including Victoria and her husband David, received no dividends.
The luxury fashion business has expanded into Europe and the Middle East, and the annual accounts indicate the brand is also expanding into new products, with the launch of leather goods and the VB Body range.
Despite the huge losses, Beckham’s global empire has reportedly doubled its profits.
Annual accounts filed at Companies House in London showed the couple made £11.6m in the year ending December 2020 despite the pandemic, compared with £4.5m in 2019.
In accounts filed in 2021, auditors warned of “significant doubts” over the Victorian fashion company’s ability to continue trading when it was reported the business had racked up debts of more than £46m since its launch.
Friends of the star said at the time that Victoria was determined to continue her company despite detractors dismissing it as a vanity project.
One said: ‘This is what gives Victoria her identity, she loves it and despite the obvious obstacles, she is a hard worker and passionate about her work.’
The fashion brand, which has a flagship store in Mayfair (pictured), posted a loss of £12.2m in 2018, £4.6m in 2017 and a loss of £8.4m in 2016.
In February 2021, it emerged that the beauty range Posh created in 2019 had suffered a £4.7m loss.
A spokeswoman for Victoria said: “While 2019 was a difficult year, the business halved its losses, a significant step on the road to profitability. The launch of the successful beauty line in the same year helped boost overall revenue by 7% compared to 2018 and both businesses are focused on profitable growth.
‘The presentation of the recent AW21 fashion collection has been well received by fashion critics and the beauty business has seen multiple products sell out in recent months.’
The fashion brand, which has a flagship store in Mayfair, London and sells items such as coats for up to £2,900 each, posted a loss of £12.2m in 2018, £4.6m in 2017 and a loss of £8.4m in 2016.
