Victoria Beckham reflected on the numerous obstacles she encountered while striving for recognition as a fashion designer. She admitted to being regarded as a ‘laughing stock’ and shared stories of the conflicts that arose as she sought to transition her career.

In her Netflix docuseries named after her, the former pop star, now 51, expressed her enduring passion for fashion. During her time with the Spice Girls, she would spend their wardrobe budget on Gucci dresses, while her bandmates were content to find outfits in thrift stores.

In 1997 she was invited to her first fashion show, with Donatella Versace flying the singer over to Milan on a private jet. 

Victoria was taken to a Versace shop to pick out a look for the show, ultimately opting for what had become her staple – a little black dress. 

However, dissatisfied with their fit, she would modify the garments, instructing the store employees to cinch the waist, shorten hems, and remove sleeves.

‘I basically redesigned the whole dress,’ Victoria mused. ‘I can’t believe I did that. So rude!’ 

Predictably, this did not go over well with Donatella, who appeared in Victoria’s documentary to caution, ‘You shouldn’t do it. That’s how I feel.’

Asked if she was ‘surprised’ by Victoria’s boldness, Donatella continued: ‘Yeah, and I thought “how does she dare?” [sic]’

Yet she conceded: ‘Then I realised it was better on her the way she did it. She knows her body.’ 

Before Victoria launched her fashion brand she attempted a solo singing career, releasing  Out of Your Mind with Dane Bowers. 

Yet she didn’t have much backing from the public, with Victoria recalling: ‘At that point, people were questioning, the media were questioning, what was I doing?

‘I’d be lying if I said I was the best singer or dancer, but when people are mean and you’re hearing things and you’re seeing things and you’re constantly made to feel you’re not good enough, that really hurts. I became so self conscious.’ 

David also noted a change in his wife’s demeanor at the time, saying that when they met, Victoria was ‘smiley, bubbly and confident’ but that slowly disappeared. 

‘People thought I was a miserable cow that never smiled and they’re not wrong!’ Victoria explained, revealing how the constant public attacks weighed on her self esteem. 

In one particularly shocking incident, art critic Brian Sewell branded her a ‘b***h’ on TV while simultaneously praising her husband David. 

Speaking on Alan Titchmarsh’s show in 2009, Brian mused: ‘Beckham is wonderful in what he does; off the field he does all sorts of good works.

‘Madame Beckham comes along, wearing virtually nothing, and steals the photographs, steals the occasion – and she’s just a common little b***h.’

Despite living under constant scrutiny, Victoria pressed ahead and soon began to chase her dreams of becoming a designer. 

In 2007 she managed to land her first fashion campaign, posing for Marc Jacobs but she admitted she was left ‘horrified’ when she saw the images.

The now iconic shoot saw her pose in a giant shopping bag among other images, with Victoria recalling: ‘When I first saw those pictures I was horrified. It was very much poking fun at me. 

‘And that’s when I realised I was a laughing stock. No one took me seriously in this industry.

‘I knew I wanted to be designer, that I had a point of view but I also knew that I needed someone to believe in me.’

Thankfully Victoria managed to find a mentor in Roland Mouret and went on to launch her own successful brand – with the Spice Girl going on to ultimately recreate her Marc Jacobs campaign in 2018. 

Yet the transition from ‘laughing stock’ to revered designer was far from smooth, with Victoria being pulled back into the pop world just as she was trying to make it in the fashion industry. 

She explained: ‘When I was working with Roland the other Spice Girls told me they wanted to go on tour…

‘David was like, “it’s really good for the kids to see you do this”, he mum-guilted me!’

Victoria agreed to the 2008 reunion tour and confessed: ‘I hadn’t been Posh Spice for such a long time. It was good to be back with them.’

The Spice Girls reformed again in 2019, however this time Victoria refused to join them. 

Since then, Mel B has been vocal about her desire to get back on tour and has publicly lambasted Victoria for not taking part. 

Victoria confessed she was ‘hurt’ by one of Scary Spice’s comments, explaining: ‘It upset me not too long ago actually – Melanie B said to me “don’t forget where you’ve come from.”‘ 

She insisted: ‘I have never forgotten where I’ve come from. I have never forgotten that Posh Spice is the reason that I’m sitting here now. 

‘She might have been grumpy but she was actually great. 

‘It was good to celebrate the Spice Girls but it was during that [2008] tour that I realised I didn’t belong on stage. It had been fun but it wasn’t what I loved anymore.’ 

Victoria’s Netflix show comes from the makers of Beckham and Michelle Obama‘s Becoming, following the success of husband David’s docuseries.  

It delves deep into her fashion brand and followed her in the runup to her Paris Fashion Week show last September.

England football legend David, whom Victoria wed in 1999, already found huge success with his Netflix documentary Beckham last year, in which Victoria starred.

David recently admitted the new documentary ‘wasn’t the easiest thing to get her to agree to’ but gushed that Victoria is ‘unbelievably hard-working and very clever’ and the world deserves to see that.

Victoria Beckham is streaming on Netflix now.