Oh dear, Posh’s Fashion Week was a bit of a flop. And it wasn’t all David’s fault
It wasn’t Victoria’s designs that were the talk of London Fashion Week
Last week was supposed to be Victoria Beckham’s big moment. Celebrating ten years of her fashion brand, the 44 year old debuted her S/S19 collection at London Fashion Week for the first time. After saying she was “so excited” to bring the brand back home, heat can reveal that VB was left feeling like the special event had been ruined and that she’ll never be considered good enough.
As the former Spice Girl showed her milestone collection, which was well received in the fashion world, it was revealed that Victoria Beckham Limited has racked up mammoth losses of around £12million over the last eight years. Despite generating almost £170million in sales, the brand’s losses equate to roughly £4k a day, and business accounts have shown Victoria received several loans from husband David’s businesses.
“Vic tried not to let the financial reports ruin her big day – but it was really embarrassing for her,” an insider tells heat. “Everyone in the business understands it’s relatively rare that a fashion label makes money on its high-end clothes – most brands rake in the cash from cheaper diffusion lines and accessories. But the fact that VB is ten years into the business and making that much loss every day, it just makes it look like the business is a very expensive hobby for her. The losses are essentially the cost of running the London shop, which some people feel is more of a vanity project.”
And while Victoria professed her pride in the company’s success in interviews, saying, “I’m proud. I mean, I’ve gone from being in a pop group to having a successful fashion brand, and that was always a dream of mine,” behind closed doors, we’re told she was extremely upset by the story.
Our insider says, “Vic had the amazing catwalk show planned, which was live streamed on to the screens at Piccadilly Circus, plus the September Vogue cover and lots of interviews, as well as important business people invited to the party that night, so the news really tarnished the day for her. She tried not to let it show, but it was obvious she
was quite sensitive about it.”
This is not the first time the company’s finances have hit the headlines. Last year, a spokeswoman blamed investments in “design, marketing and sales” for increased losses. Our insider says, “Victoria’s furious that this came out on the company’s anniversary. She knows the timing of the story was designed to hurt and embarrass her. She feels like it makes her into a joke again, just when she thought she would be getting recognition for the brand she created.”
Victoria’s associates are now said to be encouraging her to reconsider her business strategy, to avoid any more losses. “The fact is that time and again she has been advised to close down the Mayfair shop, but she refuses. She knows it would be seen as a failure in the media and argues that it would be too damaging for the brand – because everyone is so negative about her at the moment, anyway. She couldn’t face the humiliation and would rather take the financial loss than deal with that. She thinks they just have to work harder to come up with a way to make the brand more successful.”
And VB needs all the positivity she can get these days, after months of rumours about marriage problems with David , and recent pictures appearing to show David keeping his distance from her. While all of the Beckham family were in attendance at the VB fashion show, it was David and Victoria’s awkward kiss that hit the headlines. Following the show, Victoria appeared on the catwalk to take her bow before rushing over to acknowledge her family. After kissing each of her four children, she leaned down to kiss David on the cheek, but rather than embracing his wife, he just fiddled with his cufflinks.
Our insider adds, “Vic was determined to have her moment in the spotlight, and had warned David how important it was to her – she didn’t want any more reports focusing on their awkward body language. She was feeling so anxious about it that she just kind of grabbed him when he was playing with his cufflinks. She just wishes that he would show more affection in public – but he is adamant he will not be part of the ‘circus’. She wants him to think about her and how she needs this, but they don’t always see eye to eye these days.”
It also doesn’t help that people have been taking digs at Posh’s 19-year-old son Brooklyn as well. Despite dropping out of his photography course at college in New York, the teen has released a book of his images, recently shot Victoria’s Reebok campaign, and last week the proud mum posted a snap he’d taken of her at her Dover Street store. But we’re told VB was left blushing after reading online comments – as well hearing whispers at Fashion Week – which accused Brooklyn of riding on his mother’s designer coat-tails.
“Brooklyn’s burgeoning photography career is another source of major embarrassment,” our insider continues. “People are saying he’s clearly too inexperienced to have had that level of success, and that everyone knows it’s his mum pulling strings trying to make it happen.”
And while Posh had hoped her triumphant return to London would distract from everything to
‘She hates all the focus on the money and her family’
do with Brooklyn and David, it’s had quite the opposite effect. We’re told, “She hates all the focus on the money and her family – she just wants people to focus on the clothes. She’s now thinking, ‘Will I ever be good enough? When am I going to get the recognition?’ She is convinced that if she can just prove how great the business is, then people will admit they were wrong about her.
“But for now, Vic knows she just has to stay around the people who tell her she has done amazingly well – and to keep on believing in herself.”