‘THERE’S NO SPICE GIRLS TOUR, NO MORE MUSIC’

Victoria Beckham talks to Sara Nathan about her new Reebok collaboration, working out with her family – and why the band won’t be reuniting

Even when launching

a sportswear range, Victoria Beckham is as elegantly pulled-together as ever, in black soft leather trousers with a Shaquille O’neal logo T-shirt from her new Reebok collaboration – paired with vertiginous stilettos. But who can blame her choice of shoes? The 5ft 4in icon has spent the day in the shadow of American basketball legend Shaquille, who towers over her at 7ft 1in.

‘She did it because of me,’ the Reebok ambassador with a size 22 shoe wisecracks, as Victoria retorts, ‘I was wearing trainers all day today! I do live in flats.’

Posh Spice has gone sporty, and she’s taken inspiration from her favourite decade, the ’90s, heyday of girl power. In the lush surroundings of an LA garden, Victoria, 43, reminisces about her recent reunion with Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm, Melanie Brown and Geri Horner, which left Spice Girls fans around the world in meltdown.

‘I think girl power has always been important,’ she tells Grazia. ‘And now, for me, it’s about empowering women through fashion.’

She’s well aware of what we want to know, but has disappointing news for anyone hoping for a reunion. ‘ There is no tour, no more music from the Spice Girls, but it was great getting together with them. We were just saying girl power is such an important message and how do we communicate that? How do we pass the baton on, how does that look to future generations? And that’s what it’s about with us. It’s not about all the rumours about going on tour and recording new material.’

Time will tell whether she’s telling us the whole story. But conversation swiftly turns to the ongoing fight for women’s rights and, as we discuss Victoria and David’s six-yearold daughter Harper, she says, ‘It’s an important time right now. Harper knows Mummy works, Harper knows Daddy works, I think we’re very close to our children, and we talk a lot about all these issues. It’s our job as parents to make sure our children understand, and we let them know why we feel so strongly about all of these things.’

Also mother to boys Brooklyn, 19, Romeo, 15, and 13-year-old Cruz, Victoria acknowledges, ‘Bringing up boys is just as important, but they’re great boys.’

The family’s closeness is clear as the boys arrive in Reebok trainers and sportswear, while David mingles in a room full of family friends, including stylist Rachel Zoe, tattoo artist Dr Woo and a heavily pregnant Eva Longoria, who at one point walks into our interview, saying, ‘I was just looking for somewhere to sit down!’

Last year, Victoria’s fashion brand – valued at £100m – received a £30m investment from private equity group NEO Investment Partners, and appointed industry heavyweight Ralph Toledano as chairman. Launching a sportswear collection has always been a big ambition for her – exercising plays an important part in her life. She confesses she usually does the school run in her leggings. ‘I get up, do half my workout, take the kids to school in my workout gear, then go back and finish off my workout before I go to work.’

It’s this versatility that is at the core of the collection. ‘ Women are busy, they’re running around looking after kids and working and I think a lot has changed in fashion; you wear the same thing day to night,’ she says. ‘I want a lot out of my workout clothes. I really want to create something innovative, something that as a woman I want to wear. I feel there’s a real gap in the market for that.’

Although she’s been forced to rest a stress fracture in her foot following a recent family holiday in Colorado, Victoria says, ‘I work out every day, it’s the time when I get to think. I put on loud music and I dance. It’s two hours a day when I turn off the phone and I focus on me and clear my mind at the same time. I use the time to get inspired and get my head ready for the day.’

As a family, the Beckhams also exercise together. ‘ We’re quite a sporty family, we like to hike, we go surfing,’ she says. ‘I’m lucky, I have a gym at home, but everybody can work out, whether you’re just going to get up early before you take the kids to school and run – just run.’

You won’t catch VB in novelty pink sneakers, though. ‘I don’t ever wear girls’ trainers, I wear the same ones as David or the boys, so this collection is not going to be overly girly,’ she explains. ‘ The vast majority will work for both men and women.’

So, with no Spice Girls reunion on the cards, we’ll just have to get our kicks from Victoria’s latest fashion foray.