Fashion's her passion

Victoria Beckham wowed the capital this week and says its developing fashion scene equally impressed her. Gan Tian reports in Beijing.

The Victoria Beckham road show stopped off in Beijing earlier this week and predictably caused a stir. The designer, former Spice Girls singer and wife of soccer icon David Beckham, was here to promote her redesign of the Range Rover at Beijing Auto Show and take a look around the capital city.

"I really like Beijing," Beckham says. "I think women here are really fashionable."

"I've done a little bit of shopping and every time I was out there (in Sanlitun), I tried to see as much as I could. I really hope to come back. This moment is really important to me."

Accompanied by bodyguards and assistants, while carrying her kid, Harper, the fashion diva caused excitement wherever she went.

When she saw the giant billboard featuring her husband on the Adidas store in Sanlitun she snapped a picture and posted it on Twitter, adding: "David in Beijing!! Harper loved seeing Daddy here!!!"

It was the 38-year-old's first visit to Beijing and she held a party for the capital's movers and shakers, did some fashion shoots and unveiled her latest collection.

Wearing her hair scraped up into a fabulous ponytail, she showed up in a navy blue one-piece dress just before our interview was scheduled to start and shook hands with everyone, saying: "Hi, I'm Victoria," and then introduced her Victoria Beckham Ready-to-Wear 2012 Spring/Summer Collection.

The collection is all about slim silhouettes, razor-sharp dresses and corsets, jackets with functional pockets and zipper details, and short skirts in a sporty style. Colors are bold: navy blue, purple, pink and bright yellow - signaling a dynamic new season.

"For me, the new collection has a very strong military theme. Brooklyn's (New York) style has richly inspired me. My husband and I lived there for a while and this is what I want to express: stay true to myself."

Beckham says it's her first collection in China and hopefully the first of many.

"It is a great start, but I am doing it in a steady way, not rushing. Maybe one day, in the near future, I'll have boutique stores here. That is certainly a dream, something I am hoping for."

She says the online store she and her team are working on is "very international" and will, of course, pay attention to the China market.

"This market is as important to me as America and Europe. I'll definitely take Chinese customers into account. I think it suits me here."

At the private party she hosted at the beginning of the week, celebrities included models Zhang Zilin, Li Danni and Huang Xiaomeng, fashion photographer Chen Man, and Angelica Cheung, editorial director of Vogue China.

"Lots of them arrived wearing my dresses, which was really exciting. They looked incredible. So who knows? My muse for next season's collection may be one of the women I met that night."

Beckham segued from singer to fashion designer after being invited to Maria Grachvogel's catwalk show in 2000, and created her first collection in 2004 for Rock & Republic.

Two years later, she launched her sunglasses line called dVb Eyewear, going on to produce dVb jeans, fragrance, handbags and jewelry.

In 2011, Beckham and her team won Designer Brand of the Year at the British Fashion Awards.

"That was enormous. Look at those people who were in the same category as us, Tom Ford, Stella McCartney, Christopher Bailey. But we won, that was really incredible for us.

"For each and every thing I design it's because I want to wear it. If it's a bag, I want to carry it; if it's sunglasses, I want to wear them. I see myself in every design."

Despite succeeding in so many fields - singer, model, wife, mother and businesswoman - Beckham says being a designer was her ultimate dream.

"I respect my past and what I did in Spice Girls, but fashion was always my passion.

"I do what I do because I love women. I want to empower women. I want them to feel good about themselves, to be confident."

As for fashion tips, she simply answers: "I try not to wear anything too complicated. If you've got to get your legs out, you shouldn't be revealing your top. Don't put it all out at the same time. It's scary."

Meanwhile, she's considering the idea of a children's fashion line, but says, "There are a lot of people out there doing incredible clothes for children, so not just yet, but maybe one day."

"To stay focused is very important, because I want to do so much."

Contact the writer at gantian@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 04/28/2012 page11)