The dress that saved Victoria Beckham: How £850 number skyrocketed former Spice Girl’s brand from the red after being sported by dozens of celebs

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. 

Victoria in her dress and David Beckham in New York City, 2022

Supermodel Bella Hadid debuted the dress, part of Victoria Beckham’s spring/summer 2023 collection, in Paris in 2022

Kendall Jenner wearing the parrot green midi dress from Victoria Beckham’s eponymous label

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.

Actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw opted to wear the ruched, calf-length dress, which is available in multiple colours, for Victoria Beckham’s show in Paris in September 2023

Other fashionable followers include model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, 37, seen in Paris

The dress has draped tulip sleeves that expertly conceal any insecurities, while still feeling young and feminine. 

Cut like a gently-flared, midi-length tea dress, the outfit can easily be dressed up or down for a variety of different occasions – from red carpet premieres and royal engagements to dinner with friends. 

In 2011,  Victoria’s fledgling label had earned more than £15 million in sales, but profitability remained a faraway dream. In 2015, the annual revenue had more than doubled to £34 million, but the company’s losses also rose significantly as Victoria focused on expanding aggressively. 

This would mark the beginning of an especially challenging period for Victoria and her company, despite securing £30 million in investment from Neo Investment Partners in 2017. 

The following year, Victoria Beckham Limited posted a loss of £12.3 million that ballooned to £16.6 million in 2019 – marking 11 years of consecutive losses since the former Posh Spice turned designer. 

The bright spark during this period was the launch of Victoria Beckham Beauty in 2019, which continues to be one of the company’s biggest revenue drivers today. 

In 2021, auditors warned of ‘significant doubt’ about Victoria’s fashion company’s ability to continue operating when it was reported that the company had racked up debts of more than £46 million since it was launched. 

However, by 2019 David Beckham had reportedly bailed out his wife’s fashion brand with a £23 million cash injection.

Actress Phoebe Dynevor, 29, wore a cream version of the Spice Girl’s creation for the BAFTA Tea Party in Los Angeles

Amanda Holden, 53, sported a purple version on at Ascot last year which she paired with a purple beret, clutch and matching shoes

Queen Letizia of Spain, 51, wore the outfit to King Charles’ coronation on May 5, 2023

The former England footballer gave Victoria’s company a £4 million loan as well as £6.6 million in cash in Spring 2016 in order to keep her business afloat.  

David’s handout comes after Victoria’s business, which owes another of the Beckham’s companies £12.2 million from a 2017 loan, filed £10 million in losses before Christmas for the year 2017. 

By the end of 2022, Victoria’s business was finally in the black, showing a profit of £200,000 – 14 years after the former pop star embarked on her entrepreneurial journey. 

Earlier this year, it was reported that the revenue of her fashion and beauty business had more than doubled, with sales soaring by 52 per cent to £89 million last year, from £59 million in 2022.

At the time, the Mail exclusively revealed that the Bella dress had been Victoria’s secret to turning the fortunes of her once-troubled label around. 

Victoria, who turned 50 in April, was said to be ‘thrilled’ at her turnover and put it all down the ruched, calf-length dress which is available in multiple colours including black, royal blue, red, ivory. There is also a ‘mini dress’ option.