Victoria Beckham Joined Vogue for a Screening Conversation to Celebrate Her New Docu-series
At any given moment, Victoria Beckham can speak directly to her 35 million-plus followers online, sharing snippets of her daily life. For years, she was approached about being the subject of a documentary, to which she repeatedly said no. But lately, something shifted, and the timing finally felt right to relinquish editorial control and welcome a crew behind the scenes. Airing now on Netflix, the resulting three-part series gets up close and personal. As Anna Wintour phrased it to an audience gathered on Wednesday evening, “it takes us inside the public and private ups and downs of being Victoria Beckham.”
At SoHo’s Crosby Street Hotel, everything was feeling thumbs up. After a back-to-back runway show for her latest collection in Paris and the London premiere of Victoria Beckham, the multi-hyphenate touched down in New York this week. “I was genuinely surprised that anybody would really care enough about what I do every day,” Beckham told Vogue. “My team first convinced me to say yes, then my husband convinced me to say yes. I think it was the success of David’s documentary that gave me the confidence to do it. The response has been wonderful—I feel very humbled by the whole thing.”
The filming process was lengthy—a “whole year of intense therapy,” in Beckham’s words. “But it was quite liberating. I would have always called myself a control freak, but things that I would normally obsess over, I couldn’t—and that took me out of my comfort zone. I didn’t actually see it until the premiere.”
At a reception hosted by Vogue, designers, editors, and models sat back to watch select clips that captured the essence of the series. Given that a throughline of the documentary is her fight to be taken seriously by the fashion industry she loves so much, the collective support in the room felt particularly poignant.
“Now was the right time to do this. Any sooner would have been too soon,” Beckham mused. “I spent 20 years building my brand. I was in the Spice Girls for four years—a time that I m so proud of—but I’ve been so defined by that period. Even up until now, I ve been fighting against those preconceptions. Now I feel that talking about my past and my journey isn t going to have a negative effect on the brand that I ve built. I’ve earned my place.”
Dressed in a pale pink silk dress and oxblood patent mules, the artist formerly known as Posh Spice took to the stage with Vanity Fair’s global editorial director, Mark Guiducci, for a relaxed chat. Between clips, the mom-of-four spoke earnestly about themes the project touches on—mental health, disordered eating, and plummeting self-esteem. “I didn’t go into this process even thinking about these things. They just naturally came up in a very organic way when in conversation with Nadia, the wonderful director,” Beckham said.
Guiducci also invited her to take part in Vanity Fair’s signature quick-fire Proust backpage questionnaire. Proving that she really does have comedic chops, the room burst into laughter as Beckham, diamonds sparkling under the light, responded to her biggest extravagance with, “I’m not that extravagant….” (Somewhere in the audience, Bravo boss Andy Cohen was probably thinking, “What if….?”)
Beckham also praised designer Roland Mouret for being instrumental in her professional journey—for believing in her from the start and helping her define how to dress for herself rather than anyone else’s gaze. “He said, ‘Kill the WAG. The boobs? The implants? They have got to go.’ I’m so sorry Anna, it feels weird saying that in front of you,” she laughed.
When asked by Vogue what she would tell the version of herself nervously awaiting press in a suite at The Waldorf Astoria all those years ago ahead of showing her first offering of ten dresses, Beckham paused to reflect. “Well, I wouldn t have done anything differently because I really have enjoyed the process and made the most of it. And I couldn’t have worked any harder. I’d probably just put my arm around myself and say, ‘Go…enjoy the ride.’”
As guests trickled out of the screening room, Beckham ensured they had a parting gift: her 21:50 Rêverie fragrance. The scent, which tends to float through the air at her runway shows, was inspired by the night in 2001 when Beckham first told her husband she wanted to launch her own fashion house.
Photo: Hippolyte Petit1/23Anna Wintour, Victoria Beckham
