Located directly opposite New York’s Charging Bull, 25 Broadway was a fitting venue for Victoria Beckham’s SS16 collection on Sunday. If she has previously lacked bravado – as if embarrassed by her Spice Girl beginnings – then this collection is a new chapter in her career.
It was only fitting that it was in the city’s financial district, among Tom Wolf’s Masters of the Universe, that she delivered a tour de force. In the vaulted, frescoed building amid scented Diptyque candles, she sent out a fresh, confident collection full of grown-up luxe sportswear. In fresh whites, vibrant colours and bold prints, she blended box-cut jackets and culottes with fluid jersey-knit dresses with such ease that it is no wonder Jefferson Hack and Susy Menkes rushed backstage after the show to congratulate her.
Often, Fashion Week trots out collections that are so baffling, with the audience left scratching their heads trying to fathom what the designer was thinking. Not so this show from Beckham.
Brimming with a self-assured attitude, it was so fresh, sassy and effortless that it made the audience all look like we were trying too hard. If anyone still doubts her fashion credentials, then this show silenced the critics. Her show notes spoke of a “sense of city ease” and an “urban surf scene”, and of creating clothes that are “fresh and liberating”.
She delivered exactly that. In bucketloads. Favourite looks include a fluid-white wrap skirt matched with boxy white tee, with a suede body bib over the top. The show opened with a procession of easy halter-neck dresses, with bold checked panels and graphic-print sleeveless tops, matched with ragged-hemmed pleated skirts.
The closing looks of the show included a asymmetric print/checked skirt and top, wonderfully off kilter and handled with ease and skill. The chunky printed sandals that dominated the footwear were sweet, wearable and completed the mood. Surely this heralds a new confidence for Beckham. As her talent grows, it seems she now has the skill to carry off a more laissez-faire approach to dressing.
Her show notes also promised a collection full of “freedom with a carefree attitude”; as she explained, this best describes her life right now.
If this collection is anything to go by, then perhaps being the wife of David Beckham, mother of four, and head of a growing fashion empire may not be such a bad life after all.
smaisey@thenational.ae
MATCH INFO
Norwich City 1 (Cantwell 75') Manchester United 2 (Aghalo 51' 118') After extra time.
Man of the match Harry Maguire (Manchester United)
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The fake news generation
288,000 – the number of posts reported as hate speech that were deleted by Facebook globally each month in May and June this year
11% – the number of Americans who said they trusted the news they read on Snapchat as of June 2017, according to Statista. Over a quarter stated that they ‘rarely trusted’ the news they read on social media in general
31% - the number of young people in the US aged between 10 and 18 who said they had shared a news story online in the last six months that they later found out was wrong or inaccurate
63% - percentage of Arab nationals who said they get their news from social media every single day.
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
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