The Victoria Beckham Netflix series, simply titled “Victoria Beckham’ is an “inspiration” and ‘a must-watch” for anyone with a dream.
Two years after the release of her husband’s docuseries Beckham, former Spice Girl turned fashion designer, Victoria Beckham, is back with a self-titled docuseries of her own. It tells the story of her rise from being a daughter, loner, and a not so talented yet ambitious young performer to global brand.
Most of us know the story of Victoria Beckham, even if at a surface level, but here are some takeaways from the series.
Victoria Beckham wasn’t so posh after all
While the David Beckham docuseries painted his wife as having grown up with a Rolls Royce driving father, she actually grew up in a middle class home with a hardworking father who not only ran his own electrical supply company, but pretty much rebuilt their family home by hand. And despite having a wealthy daughter and son-in-law, they still live in the same home today.
In one scene, Beckham recalls her and her siblings forming an assembly line and helping her father assemble electrical parts by hand, then going in the car to watch him make deliveries.
In another scene, we learn that her parents remortgaged their home so she could go to theater school. When she wanted to come home when things got tough, her father forced her to stay and keep working hard. Her father, no doubt, helped to instill the work ethic that would propel her to global success.
Victoria Beckham had the right support
While Victoria Beckham had serious ambition and work ethic, she is where she is because she had people who believed in her. That includes her parents, who made sacrifices for her to go to theater school and helped her navigate the negative press that would follow her throughout her career, her husband, who would be the early investor in her eponymous clothing brand, her fashion design mentor Roland Mouret, her business partner David Belhassen, her Spice Girls group mates, and her fans. Sometimes the people in her life told her things she didn’t want to hear, but it’s that honest support that helped her to toughen up and reach the pinnacle of success.
It would’ve been nice to hear from her siblings on what it was like growing up with Beckham, which is the only hole in the story.
The series is a masterclass on business and personal branding
Victoria Beckham went from being a major celebrity whose stardom eclipsed that of her husband, to a WAG (Wife and Girlfriend) and arm candy of a football superstar. At one point, Mouret advises her that if she wanted to be taken seriously as a fashion designer she needed to “Kill the WAG,” be authentic and genuine, and tone down her style. In essence, she needed to kill the very personas she created for herself, start all over again, and allow her creativity to speak for her. At its core, Victoria Beckham’s story is one of growth, evolution, and finding your true self, and then not being afraid to do it all over again.
With her debut show at Paris Fashion Week being the backdrop for the series, we get a window into the fashion business, including the lead up to the show, and through interviews with fashion heavyweights like Marc Jacobs, Anna Wintour, Donatella Versace, Roland Mouret, and her business partner David Belhassen. We also get to see the ups and downs, successes and pitfalls of building a global company and brand.
Victoria Beckham is a work in progress
This is perhaps the biggest takeaway from the series that serves as an inspiration to anyone with a dream. Many believe that celebrities have it easy. Many would assume that with her Spice Girls fame, building a successful fashion brand would be a given, but Beckham had to work hard to prove herself to the fashion industry, her critics, her husband, and most importantly herself.
Although Beckham has been building her company for 20 years, you get the feeling that she is now beginning to realize her dream and that everything before her Paris Fashion Week debut was just laying the foundation. Although her husband encourages her to take in this moment and take some time to breathe, she’s just getting started. She has so much more that she wants to accomplish.
Final thoughts
This series is an intimate look into the life and work of someone we thought we knew but didn’t. it isn’t just for women or even Spice Girls fans. As I mentioned earlier, this series is for anyone with a dream, regardless of whether you’re a man or woman, young or old. If you’re an entrepreneur, creative, or just a Victoria Beckham fan, this series is definitely a must-watch.
Kevin Bourne is SHIFTER’s Toronto-based editor and Senior Entertainment Reporter focusing on Black music and film & TV. He was named one of 340 international voters for the Golden Globe Awards and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.
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