Fashion
Victoria Beckham's £30m fashion line sees her named UK's top entrepreneur
By Stylist Team
11 years ago
Just in case we needed any more proof that Victoria Beckham's transformation from pop star to respected fashion designer is complete, the mum-of-four has just been named the UK's most successful entrepreneur.
She heads up a list of 100 compiled for business magazine Management Today, beating other fashion-related names such as Mahmud Kamani of clothing website Boohoo.com, who comes third, and even style icon Dame Vivienne Westwood, who appears at number 90.
Thanks to her "finely-tuned business acumen," Victoria, 40, has grown her fashion brand's turnover 2,900% - from £1million to £30million in five years - as well as increasing her staff from just three to over 100. The huge success of her crossover into fashion means the stylish star is now personally worth £210million.
A self-confessed "control freak," the former Spice Girl has often spoken of her dedication to getting her brand, which debuted in 2008, taken seriously in the fashion world. Speaking at the Vogue Festival last year, she said: "At the beginning there was a lot of raised eyebrows... When I started, I did one-on-one presentations, I'd talk for hours to people who didn't even speak English. I think a lot of people probably thought, 'Shut up, stop going on about a bloody grosgrain waistband!'"
Topping the list is just the latest in a string of accolades for the star's brand, which has gone from strength to strength despite early rumours that designer Roland Mouret was heavily involved her debut collection. Victoria's team later explained that her brand used the same seamstresses, pattern cutters and fabric makers as the French designer, but impressed that while she sought advice from him, he had "absolutely nothing to do with the creative process." Roland last year described himself as a "mentor" while Victoria has previously admitted, "Do I draw? No. Then again, nor do lots of designers. But I put it all on myself and walk around in it, and I know what feels comfortable. I know how a dress should sit."
In a recent interview, Victoria, who has just opened a minimalist London boutique, admitted her hands-on approach to her business extended to her spare time, saying: "I don’t ever watch TV. After dinner I’ll catch up with emails. And when I’m lying in bed I think about the next collection. That makes me sound insane, doesn’t it? That I’m getting into bed with David Beckham and thinking about clothes... It’s really important that every aspect of what we do – the clothes, the swing tags, the shelves, everything – represents my point of view, because that’s what the brand stands for.”
One of 15 women in the list, she is named ahead of those behind well-known brands such as Dyson, Zoopla, Scyscanner and Ocado. Congrats Victoria - it's a long way from Wannabe.
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