It’s fitting that the Mango x VB collection should drop just days after Spice Girl-turned-designer Victoria Beckham celebrated her 50th birthday with a glamorous star-filled bash in London. The celebration not only marks a significant age milestone, but reminds us that we, along with Posh, are marking about 30 years of <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/fashion/2022/10/01/david-beckham-and-children-praise-victoria-after-paris-fashion-week-show/" target="_blank">Victoria the Fashionista</a>. While the term “style chameleon” gets thrown around a lot, in ways that has diluted its meaning and impact somewhat, Beckham has truly earned the accolade. Admittedly, she’s not known for being outlandishly envelope-pushing, and could be accused of having stayed firmly in her lane over the years (not necessarily a bad thing), but despite that, you can still look back and see a significant style evolution. In the same way that teen stars, especially in the music industry, need to take their audiences with them as they grow, or face being relegated to a footnote in celebrity history, <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/first-ever-victoria-beckham-store-opens-in-heart-of-london-1.234852" target="_blank">Beckham has forged forwards during each part of the three decades she has spent in the spotlight.</a> This latest collection is very much an indication of where Beckham is now, as opposed to a retrospective of her previous style incarnations or a nostalgic look back through her eras. A look back she might well have done given the ongoing <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/2023/06/10/how-to-wear-y2k-fashion-summers-hottest-trend/" target="_blank">penchant for Y2K</a> and the influence she wielded upon that decade. The aesthetic is minimal as fans have come to expect from Beckham’s style, leaning heavily into quiet luxury and with her signature feminine silhouette throughout. There’s also the cheekily humorous and oh-so British touch in the back view of the trench coat – one of our favourite pieces – which exudes the “is it a trench or is it a crop jacket?” vibe one might expect from Alexander McQueen. Comprising dresses (all full length, no minis or midis here), blazers, trouser suits (with the pants designed to be worn with barely the hint of a toe peeking out) and shirts, the overall effect is luxurious glamour, all in Beckham’s preferred muted palette of monochromes and blushes, with the occasional butter and ecru. There are nods to millennium fashion in the ruffled hems, keyhole openings, spaghetti straps, racer backs and dinky boardroom-to-bar blouses, but it’s clear that tailoring remains at the heart of the collection. Beckham hasn’t scrimped on the detailing that is often missing from a High Street Brand x Celebrity Name collection, with the circular cut-out back of the maxi crochet dress, the open back on the waistcoat and the chest cut-outs on the pinstripe shirt elevating what might have been otherwise pedestrian pieces. The detailing doesn’t stop there. The decorative stitching on the pale pink Godets and asymmetrical dresses, the inclined heel on the leather sandals and the oversized clasps on the covetable chain bracelet and necklace feel intrinsic, baked into the blueprints rather than as afterthoughts, showcasing her design eye. There are also youthful touches. Both the draped halter dress and bodysuit – another favourite – feel like something <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/brooklyn-beckham-and-actress-nicola-peltz-announce-their-engagement-1.1047902" target="_blank">Beckham’s daughter-in-law, billionaire heiress and actress Nicola Peltz</a> would wear. Also expect to see the silk lingerie shorts and matching camisole top all over your social media feed, paired with an oversized cardigan, fake, black-rimmed glasses and an oat milk latte. When choosing one word to sum up the collection – which is priced between Dh280 and Dh1,500 – “flowing” springs to mind. The pieces allow for an ease of wearing and movement, which Beckham herself has often eschewed in favour of trussing herself up in ultra-tight dresses. These no doubt photograph well, but would be murder to sit down for dinner in. The ebb and flow of this collaboration shows a collection that’s completely at peace with itself; that knows what it is and what it wants to achieve. A metaphor, if ever there were one, for Beckham herself as she turns 50.