I think me and Victoria Beckham need to have a litte chat. Ever since her new little bundle of joy, Harper, came along she seems to have embraced... erm... *loud swallow*... FLAT SHOES! Now obviously it's a woman's prerogative to sometimes, sometimes, wear flat shoes in certain situations, but on a catwalk? HER catwalk? The queen of the heel's catwalk? No. Just no.
Putting the lack of heelage aside for just a moment, Victoria's spring summer 2012 showed yet another turning point for the designer. Last season saw VB give us something more grown-up, sending down her catwalk shapes that would suit a multitude of bodies, and for next season she's given us sport-chic. Her take on tennis-dress that would make Charlotte York extremely proud.
Navy and white appeared...a lot, mixed with some orange, cream and white. VB's signature exposed zips made a welcome return and racy straps held up some rather lovely dresses, in particular the last floor length black gown.
Blouson style jackets in liquid fabrics provided some practicality to the collection, not that any of it was particularly hard to wear. Pleats-a-plenty flowed from the (drop) waist to the floor on one dress, and above-the-knee on a couple of day dresses.
Once again, and thank God she did, Victoria teamed many a dress with a bag... a really nice bag. Every season her bags make up just as much of the collection than the actual clothes. It's because her love for an accessory, and especially the art of making an outfit from an accessory, is so strong. Models wore big totes and shoulder bags as clutches with their figure-flattering, colour blocking frocks.
Victoria knows good fashion. She knows how to dress a woman. I'm really pleased that again, for another season, she's taken her label forward into a new direction. Her critics can rest easy that she's not a one-trick pony.
Long may she rein.
