This Is Why We Still Care About Victoria Beckham’s Wardrobe

The former Spice Girl’s revelations about disordered eating add new depth to the story of her rise in the fashion world.

There are so many things in the world to loathe these days – so many politics, so many people – that it’s unfathomable to me that anyone could loathe Victoria Beckham. What has she done, other than achieve the sort of personal and professional success that so many others dream of? Maybe that’s the problem. In a world where women are frequently reminded that they can’t have it all, she has it all.

After watching her documentary, even Victoria’s biggest haters will be forced to soften their stance, unless they’re the sort of person who blithely goes around detesting random celebrities for the sake of it (in which case, I have news: it’s you. You’re the problem). While the documentary does a diligent, at times too-scripted job of making her seem humorous, its biggest success is in making her seem human.

Beyond the fact that she’s a celebrity, there are two reasons why women care about what Victoria Beckham wears. The first is that her style evolution echoes many of our own. As an insecure teenager, she was at pains to fit in, describing herself as “the uncool kid at school that was awkward”, later passing off her little black Miss Selfridge dress as Gucci. Which of us hasn’t fibbed about the provenance of our clothing? It’s why Primark became known as Primarni.

As a Spice Girl, she wore tacky outfits with questionable hairstyles that she says she regrets. Which of us hasn’t felt a sting of embarrassment from sartorially dubious hindsight? As a successful pop star married to a successful footballer, she built herself a wardrobe feathered with ostentatious wealth, too young and naive to care that their matching black leather/purple satin/red carpet rhinestone looks would go on to haunt her and David both.

Which of us hasn’t earnestly twinned with our first love, or splurged on extravagant accessories with our first big pay cheque? Granted, said accessories weren’t Birkins (Victoria is rumoured to have over 100), but the trajectory is the same.

If her parents were working-class people made good (the documentary takes pains to remind us that father Tony is self-made), Victoria is a middle-class girl made good, a woman who’s made the most of herself, and then some. “She’s still as driven after 27 years – the way she was wired was different,” says David, speaking with a love in his eyes that you really can’t fake.

Since people love a transformation story, of course they’re going to lap up every wardrobe detail by which it was achieved. While Victoria is the best advertisement for her own brand, this extends to more than merely looking good in her own designs. She also symbolises what’s possible. Every pencil skirt worn with a shrunken knit; every blouse tucked into a boot-cut trouser encourages younger women that they, too, can scale the dizzy heights of fashion/law/management consultancy if they can only look smart and put-together enough. Older women, meanwhile, see her tailoring, cocktail dresses and evening gowns as chic, dependable wardrobe solutions.

The second reason women care about what she wears is more complex. Despite her wealth and fame, they see themselves in her, or see her in themselves. “I didn’t look like a lot of the other girls,” she says of her teenage years at the Laine Theatre school in Epsom, Surrey, as footage shows her in her dance kit looking twice the size she is now – which is to say, a size 10 rather than a size zero. “That’s where I started getting a lot of criticism about my appearance, my weight. I was very critical of myself. I didn’t like what I saw. I’ve been everything from ‘porky posh’ to ‘skinny posh’. It’s been a lot, and that’s hard.”

But it’s the next comment that tells you everything you need to know about Victoria, and the myriad women like her who have measured out their lives in Atkins and Paleo, Spanx and Skims, Ozempic and Mounjaro. “I had no control over what was being written or what pictures were being taken, and I suppose I wanted to control that,” she says. “I could control it with the clothing. I could control my weight. And I was controlling my weight in an incredibly unhealthy way.”

After decades of tabloid speculation, Victoria Beckham is finally admitting to having suffered – or likely still suffering – from an eating disorder. “I never talked about it publicly,” she says. “It really affects you, constantly being told you’re not good enough, and I suppose that’s been with me my whole life.”

Those who have never suffered from disordered eating might not realise that it is impossible to consider clothes without considering the body that inhabits them. If you don’t like your body, you will never be fully happy with what you dress it in, whether it’s Victoria Beckham, Victoria’s Secret or an XXL tracksuit from Nike.

For those who struggle with their weight and body image, life can feel like a quest to stave off self-loathing by any means they can. For those who love fashion, this can mean anything from living off steamed fish and edamame to spending more than you can afford on clothes you hope will transform you into the person you want to be. It often means both. It’s like looking for the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow that always fades before you find the treasure.

Clothes won’t heal you. But at their best, they will make you feel a whole lot better about who you are. Victoria understands this. So do plenty of other designers, but unlike the phalanx of male creative directors currently heading up luxury brands, Victoria has lived experience. At a time when sales of luxury are in decline, brands are falling over themselves to “storytell” in a bid to distinguish themselves from their competitors, usually by highlighting the history and craftsmanship of their brand.

Victoria Beckham isn’t a heritage brand, but she does have a story. That story is herself. “Throughout my life, I’ve used clothes to become someone else,” she says, adding that her own designs “made me feel good, made me feel strong and, ultimately, like the best version of myself”.

That’s all women want. To feel good, strong and ultimately like the best version of themselves. It might not seem like a lot to ask, but to anyone who feels trapped in a body they hate, and as a consequence, suffers from disordered eating, this can often feel hopelessly unachievable.

As for why men can’t stop caring about what Victoria Beckham wears, who knows? While there will be some who admire her style, there seem to be many more who track and analyse her wardrobe choices as a means of criticising her body. If that sounds outlandish, watch the documentary. Yes, you’ll learn a lot about Victoria Beckham. But in between the carefully curated scenes showing how she launched and developed her brand, you’ll also learn a lot about women.

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