Although the collection felt a mild first impression, there are good moments in Victoria Beckham‘s spring-summer 2022 line-up. And it was inspired by Victoria’s husband, David. During the press day of the collection, David Beckham emerged in a pale blue chambray shirt, the kind his wife had referenced in her collection because he wears them on their European holidays and she likes to steal them from his hotel wardrobe. “The oversized chambray shirts feel quite David, with a loose-fitting pant and a beautiful belt. You wanna be that person,” she said. “David always dresses. He always makes an effort. When we’re on holiday in Europe, he has a very pulled-together look, and I want to wear those pieces as well. It’s a shared suitcase.” The menswear gene has always been strong at Victoria Beckham. Following pre-spring’s brand restructure – which merged her two lines into one and reduced her price point by 40 percent – she is refining and enforcing those proposals, demonstrating to customers regular and new that restructuring isn’t the same as compromising. It was clear in the instant gratification this collection offered in the tailoring she credited to her husband, but also in more subversive propositions like a (very elevated) string vest styled with a gold chain, which Beckham attributed to Ray Liotta. “There’s something a little Goodfellas there.” The sleek eveningwear was great, too. As for the collection’s inspirational element of surprise, her husband seemed pleased enough with his new place on the mood board that future collaborations could take place. With a fashion history like David Beckham’s, the possibilities are endless.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.