The dress that saved Victoria Beckham: How £850 number plunged Spice Girl’s brand from the red

Celebrity endorsements aren’t something Victoria Beckham struggles to land.

Since launching her namesake fashion label 17 years ago, Victoria’s designs have been worn by Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle, Lady Gaga, Kendall Jenner, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Lopez, Gal Gadot, and Naomi Campbell.

But it wasn’t celebrities sporting the garments that ultimately pulled Victoria’s clothing company out of the red last year.

The former Spice Girl pivoted her career in 2008, when she debuted her first ready-to-wear collection – comprising 10 bodycon dresses – in a New York hotel suite full of fashion journalists.

Early reviews were largely favourable, if slightly sceptical about how long the fashion industry would hold Victoria’s attention before she set her sights elsewhere.

But the former Spice Girl’s line wasn’t always a success – with husband David having to bail her out and 2019 marking 11 consecutive years of losses.

Weeks before her debut at Paris Fashion Week in 2022, her fashion venture ‘has debts of £53.9 million’.

But profitability was around the corner, as Victoria prepared for her inaugural presentation in the fashion capital of the world.

The collection was a seamless blend of her mainline sensibilities with the wearability of her diffusion line, and comprised 40 looks, including impeccably tailored suits, co-ord sets, skirts, and dresses.

And one ensemble in particular that stole the show.

Supermodel Bella Hadid sashayed down the runway wearing a parrot green, gathered midi dress that, in the months since, has earned cult status – drawing comparisons to Herve Leger’s cult bandage dress that was all the rage in the Noughties.

The calf-length dress reportedly accounts for one of every 10 Victoria Beckham outfits sold, making it one of the singer-turned-fashion designer’s biggest hits.

Reflecting on the company’s long, winded path to profitability, Victoria told Harper’s Bazaar ‘it’s a huge accomplishment’.

Victoria, who has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by the magazine, added: ‘The company has been through so much over the last 17 years – ups, downs, restructuring… it’s been quite the journey.

‘So finally to be able to say we’re profitable is something I’m so proud of, because it’s not an easy industry, and it’s getting harder and harder,’ she added.

Dubbed her ‘cult item’, the dress has been flying off the shelves since Bella first debuted it on the runway at Paris Fashion Week in 2022.

Since then, it has been worn by everyone from Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor and supermodels Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Kendall Jenner, to Queen Letizia of Spain and Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden.

And, while the outfit is beloved by Hollywood stars and European royalty alike, its widespread popularity has everything to do with the dress’ timeless and universally flattering silhouette.

The frock, which is available in a variety of colours and prints, features a ruched long waist. Ruching or gathering from waist to hip is as flattering as it is forgiving, and adds movement and interest to a very simple silhouette – not to mention it disguises any lumps and bumps some people may feel conscious of.