ĽѡFinancial Times Magazine---Women of 2011 (special edition)
ԭߣVanessa Friedman
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1974Victoria BeckhamӢŮSpice GirlsܸijԱߡԱҡģأӵĸԼӢ˶ԱDavid BeckhamӡǾ̾һȫܵŮԵжٿԣ⽫˽ʱż½ɫʱװʦҵŮԡ
άǺʶԼӵʱװƵ츳ԼƷdVbƳ̫۾ˮ˵ijƷVictoria BeckhamҲѾƳʱװܷڣֿ߽fashion iconijɳɱʷ˽һ档
ͬʱҲӭͬѧDzۣ۵ǣҵȦǷܹóɹ>>
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Last September, Victoria Beckham’s critics were fed a fine meal out of their words when she moved from start-up fashion brand to full-fledged contender, eschewing her former small collection presentations for a runway show at the imposing New York Public Library. She also launched a second line, entitled Victoria, as a companion brand to her eponymous ready-to-wear line. In doing so, she proved the celebrity-turned-creative director is not a joke any more – it’s a job description. Thus she paved the way for a new kind of designer to emerge: one without the usual art school background, but with an education of an entirely different kind.
ȥ£ά•˺ķǰһСղչʾתΰ׳ŦԼͼݾƷƵ㣬־ĸʱƷƴ죬һٶҲΪһṩµĻ⡣ͬʱҲһ֧Ȩ“ά”ΪijϵĽƷơͨЩжά֤Լܼת䲢Цְҵ仯ʵˣΪճڹǰʦõע⣺һֻӴͨʱкϸˣҲӵԼƷơ
After shooting to fame via the manufactured bubblegum group that was the Spice Girls and marrying into the pop culture lexicon, Beckham confounded the style set by declaring she wanted to move from iconic wearer of clothes to actual designer of clothes, and launch her own fashion line. “Hubris!” the world responded, citing Jennifer Lopez’s failed Sweet face women swear collection. “Look what has gone before. A celebrity fashion line will never work, especially not a ready-to-wear line with aspirations to compete at the highest levels in New York, London and Paris. ”
ͨ“”ԼĻԱ飬άһٳ˺һٱҪʱд±˱ΪķװʦӵԼķװƷƺߵ뷨“̫ˣ”ղݸȴƷʧܵӣҶĻӦ“ȥĽѵɣǵĸƷԶɹ”Ƕһ־ʱиߵŦԼغͰռһϯ֮صƷơ
And yet, since its birth at New York fashion week in 2008, just in time for the recession, Victoria Beckham-the-brand has defied all retail trends. Turnover had grown 120 per cent each year for the last three, and the brand is now sold in 107 stores around the world. Last month, she won the Designer Brand Award at the British Fashion Awards. It is because of Beckham that critics and buyers who in the past might have dismissed such brands with a snort and a raised eyebrow, now know to do so could be a very big mistake.
ȻڽΣ2008ŦԼʱװϵάDZ˺ķƷƹȻսƷƵơڹȥһƷƵ۶ÿ120%ڱ鲼107̵궼ڳάǵƷơϸ“Ӣʱн”佱ϻƷʦΪάǵijɹԣʹƷ֮ԱDzмһ˵Ĺ˿ǿʼʶ ԼĴ
Interview:
Q1: Has your success surprised you?
Answer: As much as I believe in what I do and love it – the assumption has always been that when times are hard people buy luxury brands that they know, that have a history and have proven themselves over time. The fact that people have been willing to invest in me makes me feel quite blown away. I was very aware of all the preconceptions about me and what I was doing when I began. The summer right before we launched I was on holiday with David in Spain, and I remember being on the phone with Simon [Fuller, her backer], and saying, “I’m really nervous,” and he said, “You have nothing to be nervous about. As long as you enjoy what you are doing, and do your best, you have nothing to prove.” And then Marc Jacobs told me, “This is not about being better than anyone else or competing with anyone else; it’s about competing with yourself.” I have always thought that was very powerful advice.
Q1:ijɹ
ȫһвȰòʱͨṺЩ˽ӵƾʷƷʱ֤ݳƷƣǴڵġʵԸͶҵƷҸе͵⡣ҿʼҵʱʮ˶ҵƫԼɵ¡ҵƷƳǰǸ죬Һʹȼ٣ؼҺҵͶͨĵ绰Ҷ˵“Һܽš”˵“ûʲôɽŵģֻҪ£þˣ㲻Ҫ֤ʲô”ſ˲Ҳ˵“ⲢǺκһ˾ںԼ”ǻὫĽϲʱԼ
Q2: How much of the consumer’s ‘investment’ do you think has to do with you, and what you represent, and how much has to do with what you make
Answer: I’ve been told numerous times that I’m a very polarizing figure: some people like me and some people really don’t. I also know that when I wear one of my dresses, it helps sales – there’s a quite direct numerical relationship – but I don’t like to rely on that. I am quite happy that now my reviews are really all about the collection, they are not about me. From the beginning, I didn’t want people to confuse the brand “Victoria Beckham” with the surname Beckham. I wasn’t just going to throw money at it. We have always had very strict budgets. One of the steepest learning curves for me has been understanding that every seam or pocket I add has an equivalent effect on the price of a garment.
Q2:ΪߵͶʶİжأ˭أһֶijɾĹף
˸ңһܷѵˣϲҶdzҡҲ֪ͬҴԼƷƵȹӿԼشٽֱӵĹϵҲϲַʽۡڶ ҵ۴ԷװҡһʼҾͲϣҽάDZ˺ķƷ뱴˺ķҲƵƷͶؽϸԤ㡣Ҹ˶һѧϰջÿ·һϸڶӦؾͻᷴӳ·ռ۸ϡ
Q3: Do you feel a responsibility as a female role model?
Answer: I very much believe in women and supporting women, and one of the reasons I wanted to get into fashion was to make women feel good about themselves. I’d love to think I made someone’s dream seem possible, but with four children and a husband and a full-time job, I see my value more as being an example of a woman who is facing all the different pressures most women are. The hardest job in the world is being a working parent.
Q3: ΪһŮܵһθ
: ҷdzŮҲԸ֧ҽʱȦһԭҲΪŮԸԼϣҵôҿĿԣΪһӵĸӺɷԼȫְŮ, ΪҵļֵǺʹŮͬѹŮ˵ѵĹһҪŵļҳ
Q4: Do you have any advice for other women?
Answer: I am absolutely obsessive about diary-keeping. I can tell you what I’m doing next June. It’s the only way I can make this all possible. The first thing I do in the year is get everyone else’s diary – David’s, the children’s – so I know when all his football games are, where they are, what the kids have to do, when the parent-teacher conferences are, and then I build my work schedule around that. Of course, some things are out of my control: if I have to be in New York for fashion week, I’ll miss something. For me, it’s important to be respectful of everyone else’s time too. Sometimes you hear a designer say“Oh, I was up until 5am the morning of the show changing everything around or finishing the clothes,” and I just couldn’t do that. It would make me too anxious, and it’s also not fair to the people around you. From the beginning, I thought I had to do this my way.
Q4:ŮܸһЩ
ʮּдռǵϰߡԸµİţռΨһķҿʼĵһ¾ռÿ˵ռ——ģǵģҾͿ֪еţǸЩʲôȻҾ;ݴҵĹšȻʱ鲢ҵĿƣұϯŦԼʱװܣôҾʹһЩ¡˵ÿ˵ʱǷdzҪԭʱһʦ˵“Ұҹ賿5ݳķ·”Ҳⲻҵ̫ǣߵ˵ҲܲƽһʼҾΪҵԼķʽҵҵ
˵ô࣬ǿάǵƷ~
Live ShowVictoria Beckham 2012 ϵ
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