Scent of Success
Galeries Lafayette hosted a dinner on Wednesday to celebrate Victoria Beckham's new corner at its flagship on Boulevard Haussmann in Paris.
“To have this space in France, it's such a dream come true for me,” Beckham said as she surveyed the stand, located in the second floor women's designer ready-to-wear department alongside brands including Courrèges, Jacquemus,
Jil Sander and Dries Van Noten.
The designer noted she has a special relationship with Paris, where her husband, soccer legend David Beckham, briefly played for Paris SaintGermain in 2013.
“We have friends here. We love the energy here, everything about it, so even before I had a fashion brand, we would spend regular weekends here.
The children love it, too,” she said.
Guests including
Farida Khelfa, Constance Jablonski, Camille BidaultWaddington and Sarah Andelman gathered in La Suite, the department store's personal shopping space, which enjoys sweeping views of the Sacré- Coeur basilica.
Beckham, who was still on crutches after breaking her foot during an accident at the gym, nonetheless looked chic in a white pantsuit. She said French customers tended to gravitate toward classically elegant pieces. “I can relate to French women, I'd like to think,” added the designer, who shows her collections during Paris Fashion Week.
Marie Leblanc, chief executive officer of Victoria
Beckham, said the brand was in a positive place after turning profitable in fiscal 2022.
The business reached net sales of 100 million euros in 2023, following a compound annual growth rate of 35 percent since 2020, according to private equity firm NEO Investment Partners, which holds a significant minority stake in the company.
“Now that we've wrapped up that chapter one with the brand on track and profitable healthy growth, we want to put our foot on the gas and move to chapter two. And, of course, retail is in chapter two's map, so we're working on that,” Leblanc said.
“We're already working on establishing our footprint with new shopin- shops and the brand experience. This concept was very important to us,” she added, noting the “masculine but warm and minimalistic” mood of the corner, which features signature green accents. “This is the beginning of something bigger.”
Beckham said her flagship on Dover Street in London is seeing strong growth in traffic and sales, and her dream is to open a stand- alone boutique in Paris eventually.
“Because of the success of Dover Street, we see such a huge potential internationally. So, yes, Paris, but also America for us as well,” she revealed. “It's about finding the right space. I think that's very hard to find here in Paris.”
Over dinner, she thanked Arthur Lemoine, offer and buying director at Galeries Lafayette, for the store's decade- long support of her brand.
Guests left with a token of her affection for the French capital: a bottle of
her fragrance Suite 302, which the brand said was inspired by “the sumptuous memory of Victoria and David's whirlwind anniversary trips to Paris.”
“I feel so welcome here in Paris and have done ever since I started showing here so for me, it's my second home,” Beckham said. — JOELLE DIDERICH