Victoria Beckham takes Paris, and then some

British designers have long decamped to the runways of Paris fashion week, but for Victoria Beckham it was her first-ever show in probably the most competitive schedule of all fashion weeks. The bar is set high, too, with Loewe, Yohji Yamamoto and Giambattista Valli all showing on the same day, never mind the giant houses of Dior, Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton and Rick Owens on the same calendar.

It did not matter though, as Ms Beckham proved she ‘earned’ her spot on the Parisian catwalk. Forgetting for a moment any business and operational issues, family dramas and previous collections, this show solidified the Victoria Beckham brand as a destination for considered fashion.

On the runway it was a tight edit of mostly dresses, from an insouciant diaphanous slip to an hourglass blazer and precision cut tailoring. A jacket and trouser suit worn by Gigi Hadid harked back to Helmut Lang, circa 2004. A utility strap held the jacket open just wide enough so show some skin. An undone belt traipsed in the back. It wasn’t revolutionary, but it said something of Ms Beckham, who has come a long way from her early days of bodycon dresses and tight jeans. It also shows she has invested in her design team, after a string of hires and exits that have plagued the brand’s management over the past few years.

When Ralph Toledano joined Victoria Beckham Ltd as chairman, a surge of strategy changes have taken place behind the brand’s glossy walls. Mr Toledano, who is also president of France’s Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM) will have advised Ms Beckham to level up, show amongst industry peers, nudging the brand to shed the image of being a small and emerging British fashion house.

In Paris, no look goes unscrutinised

After a decade in business, multiple brand partnerships, a global distribution network and growing beauty business, Ms Beckham is no longer at the start of her career. While she may be fighting other battles, like the reported company debt that has surged to 53.9 million pounds, there was equal commercial and design consideration here, not to mention the ambition to show in Paris, where no look goes unscrutinised.

If the direction seemed removed from previous seasons, that was the point. The minimalist simplicity of the last few years made way for more detailing, depth and juxtaposition, like the deconstructed method of cutting that brought a subversive, and more ambitious quality to Beckham’s designs. Time will only tell if Ms Beckham has truly exited her comfort zone and if Paris will be the brand's new runway home.