Victoria Beckham cracks America: how her look has evolved since the 2007 LA move

No matter how devoted you are to a particular aesthetic, moving from one city to another can have a dramatic impact on your style. I know this all too well, having moved to New York in 2011, and back to London again nearly six years later.

And it seems this is true for Victoria Beckham too, whose style appears to have shifted in a new direction after relocating to Miami earlier this year. The move was for husband David, who first announced his plan to establish a new Major League Soccer team in the US back in 2014. After years of legal battles and delays, Inter Miami finally made its debut last month.

It was Victoria’s 47th birthday on Saturday that allowed us to see her latest style evolution though. She wore a crisp white shirt with PVC trousers and towering neon orange heels for the celebration at the Goodtime Hotel, where she partied with guests including Kim Kardashian and Pharrell.

It was a cool look, don’t get me wrong, but it was also a lot tighter and higher and shinier than the kind of clothing we’ve come to expect from the fashion designer, whose namesake brand has become associated with a kind of understated stealth wealth sophistication.

But we’ve seen her style evolve before, back in 2007, when the Beckham family moved to Los Angeles after David signed with LA Galaxy. Described by one news outlet as “the year Victoria Beckham would rather we forget”, it was post-Spice Girls and post-post-Spice Girls solo career (remember Out of Your Mind, anyone?).

Victoria was tabloid gold, with her directional ‘pob’ haircut (long in the front, short at the back, straightened to within an inch of its life), her figure-hugging Roland Mouret dresses, Christian Louboutin platform stilettos and vast collection of Hermès Birkin bags. Whether she was sitting in the stands watching LA Galaxy or walking through an airport, everyone wanted a piece of her.

The fashion industry was especially eager to harness her star power. The previous year she had walked the runway for Roberto Cavalli and collaborated on a denim line with Rock & Republic. She appeared in the Victoria’s Secret show, and sat front row at Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Jean Paul Gaultier during fashion week. She and David appeared together on the cover of style bible W magazine.

But, savvy operator that she is, Victoria knew that she would have far more control, longevity - and potentially more money - if she were to launch a fashion brand of her own. It was a decision that heralded the end of the ‘2007 look’; Victoria wanted to be taken seriously as a fashion designer, and in fashion, looking cool has always been about looking like you haven’t tried too hard. 2007 Victoria was too blonde, too tanned, and too fond of showing off her body.

By the time the Victoria Beckham label launched with a low-key presentation in September 2008, Victoria had achieved the near-impossible, reinventing her image from chief WAG to authoritative fashion insider, and the change in her personal style was instrumental in convincing us of that. By 2017, her contribution was so valued, she was awarded an OBE for services to the British fashion industry.

So it is intriguing that 2021 has heralded another new look for Victoria. It could be the fact that, now she is well established as a fashion designer, she feels no need to downplay her more ‘extra’ tendencies, she can be more herself.

It may also be the simple fact that she is living in Miami, and she’s been influenced by the style of her friends there - including Kim Kardashian, apparently. Please forgive me for saying this, Florida, but Miami isn’t known for its low-key sophistication. It is a city that celebrates wealth, and the flaunting of plumped and pumped bodies. Subtle it is not.

VB’s Miami look is a far cry from her WAG days though. For a start, there are no breast implants or Julien Macdonald corsets, thank goodness. Though she undoubtedly takes care of herself, her styling is more relaxed. The neon and the PVC (which are actually in fashion) are balanced with an oversized shirt and though her dark hair is glossy and healthy, it looks natural and unstyled - a far cry from the severity of the pob. Loose maxidresses and kaftans of her own design are her go-to for beach days with the family, worn with flat sandals and ‘no makeup’ makeup.

In fact, maybe post-pandemic, the glamour of Miami life suits her. She says she wears vintage denim most days - but that’s about as relaxed as it gets. While she loves a baseball cap, and is regularly seen working out in the sporty separates she has designed for Reebok, Victoria was never going to submit to slobbing around in loungewear long-term.

"I refuse to wear elasticated waists," she told my colleague Lisa Armstrong in February. "The only time you’ll see me in jogging pants is in the gym."

As her London-based fashion brand continues to flounder financially, perhaps this bold new evolution of VB’s style can help give it the boost it needs.

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