Victoria Beckham's Style Transformation Through All Of Her Fashion Eras

Victoria Beckham has lived a league of style lives. She first spiced up our screens in the '90s as Spice Girl Victoria Adams (aka Posh Spice) with a very different style than she wears today. But while she may have looked different, she always knew who she wanted to be — and knew fashion would get her there. "Throughout my life, I've used clothes to become someone else, be the person that I always wanted to be, that maybe naturally I wasn't," she said on her Netflix docuseries "Victoria Beckham" (via Cosmopolitan)

It's no surprise, then, that Beckham has admitted her style file has seen some drastic shifts over the decades. In a letter to her younger self shared with British Vogue, the Brit wrote, "You are going to have so much fun with your clothes — PVC catsuits; chokers that say absurd things; weird spiky blonde hair. It will never occur to you that you appear ridiculous ... But I look back at you and smile. It will add interest to your life to go from one extreme to another." She wasn't wrong, because few style transformations have been as dramatic or notable as Beckham's, as there aren't many celebs who have truly dedicated their lives to fashion like she has.

During Victoria Beckham's early days in the Spice Girls, she truly fit her Posh Spice moniker. "I was called Posh because I liked the nice restaurants, and the nice clothes, and that was my character. I didn't smile, even in those days. There was this very strong image ... And I am very much that person, even now," she said in 2012's "Viva Forever!" documentary. The early days of Beckham's gorgeous transformation involved multiple sleek, chic, LBDs (on stage and off) and a sharp and simple brunette bob. She told Vogue of her mid-'90s locks, "I had very, very straight hair. Addicted to the hair straighteners."

But while Beckham would later rarely be seen in anything without a designer label, not all her clothing was quite so posh in those early days. "The first dress that I wore in the Spice Girls, which everybody thought was a little black Gucci dress, was actually from Miss Selfridge," she admitted on "Victoria Beckham", referring to the British high street store. But it wasn't long before the "2 Become 1" singer would embrace luxury labels and not look back.

In 1999, Victoria Beckham was still embracing all-black and had cut her hair short into a pixie. One of her most notable looks of the era — and one of Beckham's most famous looks that missed the mark — was an all-leather outfit including pants and a jacket that matched her husband David Beckham's clothes. Posh and Becks were new to the fashion scene and she later admitted they made a major faux pas. "This haunts me like you wouldn't believe," she told Vogue in 2018 of the divisive leather look. "The bizarre thing was, it was a Versace event but we turned up wearing matching Gucci leather," she added. Oops. The star also confirmed she still owned the matching outfits, but wouldn't wear hers again.

That same year, Beckham deviated briefly from her penchant for dark clothing. She stepped out in a champagne, strapless midi dress and accessorized with a beaded green necklace to add some excitement to the look. However, her understated, demure side still shone through.

The star was clearly starting to gravitate towards designer pieces and admitted on "Victoria Beckham" that her love of luxury labels was facilitated by her fellow Spice Girls. "The other girls weren't really into fashion ... that left a really nice budget for me," she said (via Netflix), sharing that Gucci became her go-to. "Fashion became everything," she added.

Victoria Beckham was all about fun Y2K fashion in 2000 while attempting a solo music career, and moved away from her Posh Spice persona as the Spice Girls released their final album. That included going braless under a white co-ord with several cut-outs down her torso. She paired the risqué top with white pants and a matching metallic gold belt, cuff, and choker, which was edgier and more trendy than a lot of her earlier looks. She was spotted in the same ensemble earlier that year in black. 

The bold looks matched her sassy persona at the time. "If you don't like it, don't buy it. And if you don't like me, don't read about me. And if you think I look like an old bag, don't put a picture of me in the paper. I'm not that desperate to be liked," she brashly told The Guardian in 2000. But Beckham has admitted she wasn't truly feeling like herself at the time, and we could probably say the same about her style. "People never believed the solo singing career, and it wasn't the real me — I was a little bit lost at the time," she'd later tell Harper's Bazaar (via Daily Mail).

In 2004, Victoria Beckham made her first business foray into fashion. She created her own jeans collection with Rock & Republic and, naturally, we saw her wearing more jeans to promote the line. Not that the move was surprising for someone whom WWD claimed owned 500 (yes, hundred!) different pairs.

We also saw a lot of Beckham in football stadiums supporting her husband, so she developed a WAG persona that was reflected in her clothing choices. Her style at the time included a lot of strappy tops, sunglasses, and super long hair extensions. Beckham later admitted on "Victoria Beckham" of her WAG days, "I look at those pictures and I smile. I didn't realise it at the time, but I was trying to find myself."

The star had moved from the U.K. to Spain after David Beckham signed a soccer contract, and felt inspired to work on her goals away from music after calling time on her solo career. "Spain is ... where you will lay the foundations for your own fashion brand," she wrote in her letter to her younger self for British Vogue. Her fashion credentials were rising outside of her own brand too. Around the same time, she became the British ambassador for Dolce & Gabbana.

Victoria Beckham rocked some very glamorous looks in 2006. She attended that year's Met Gala in an all-red look, including a tea length ball gown, strappy shoes, and silver and red jewelry. She even rocked a red lip. Speaking to Vogue about the winning monochrome ensemble, Beckham shared, "Lot's of corsetry going on here. About two corsets I wore with this dress." She added, "At the time, I obviously thought it was the right thing to do, to wear red dress, red shoes, red lips. It's quite matchy-matchy ... It felt incredible, it was beautifully made."

That same year, she further cemented her glam persona by wearing another flouncy, ball gown-inspired look in Paris. The beauty stunned in her feminine, dark silver, sparkly number with rows of tulle across the skirt and bodice. With her long, extension-aided, highlighted hair, and peep-toe gold heels, she looked every inch the fashion-forward princess.

Beckham shared everything she'd learned about fashion with her fans in her first book, "That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between." The 2006 release included advice on everything from how to shop, to how to accessorize, to confidence boosting dressing tips. "I have no qualifications to write this book other than a lifelong passion, which, combined with the extraordinary way in which my life has turned out, has given me the chance to wear some amazing clothes," she wrote (via British Vogue). The star also confirmed she'd never worked with a stylist and had no plans to.

Victoria Beckham looked more glamorous than ever in 2007 when she moved to the U.S. after David Beckham signed a contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy. The ex-Spice Girl took her lavish new life on the golden coast seriously, and even paired platform sneakers with white short shorts to throw out the first pitch at a L.A. Dodgers game. "Hot pants and platform trainers. It's gonna haunt me forever. And even more strange, a Dodgers zip up jacket," Beckham later joked to Vogue of the unique look. She was also sporting one of her most iconic hairdos, as she'd removed her long extensions, dyed her hair blond, and styled it with long bangs and shorter sides.

We saw another big change that year when Beckham reunited with the Spice Girls. The girl group performed at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, where Beckham showed her uber-feminine side. The star wore a color we hadn't seen a lot on her over the years ... pink! The fashion mogul was clearly having fun and stood out (in a good way) on the red carpet during her rare colorful dress moment alongside Mel B, Mel C, Geri Horner, and Emma Bunton. The flirty, halter neck dress had open sides and pink hot pants underneath, and she also adopted a more modern version of her classic Posh Spice hairdo in a long bob haircut that was so flattering.

After living much of the 2000s as a glamorous WAG, Victoria Beckham made a conscious decision to leave that aesthetic behind around 2008. "I buried those boobs in [Germany]," she joked of her style upgrade on "Victoria Beckham." "I became a simpler, more elegant version of myself, and I went to work." The shift was encouraged by designer Roland Mouret, who suggested she reinvent herself ahead of the launch of her eponymous clothing line. "To make the dream become reality, we have to kill the WAG," he recalled telling her. Naturally, sky-high heels remained a big part of her signature wardrobe. "I just can't concentrate in flats," she admitted on Britain's GMTV (via People), joking, "I'd love to go to the gym but I can't get my head around the footwear."

Beckham clearly took Mouret's advice to heart, as we saw a sleeker and chicer side to her clothing. While out in New York, she wore a well-tailored, gray gingham midi-dress with an off-center collar and (of course!) high heels. She also stunned in a sophisticated, fitted white lace dress with a corset top and pointed-toe heels at an Allure party. Many of her looks around this time were form-fitting, and she'd later tell Vogue, "I was afraid to wear things that weren't super, super tight. In those days, I wore a lot of corsetry. That was a sign of my own insecurities."

Clearly, though, her style upgrade worked. She launched her own label with a collection of structured dresses. "I started by creating clothes that I wanted to wear. Something that made me feel good, made me feel strong and ultimately like the best version of myself," she said on "Victoria Beckham."

In 2012, Victoria Beckham was spotted in more timeless, elegant pieces with clean lines. She attended the Vanity Fair Oscar party in a classy, strapless, beige maxi dress that highlighted her fit figure in an understated way, accessorized with a simple black waist belt. The fashion lover also wore a classic white shirt and straight-leg black pants with pointed pumps while attending the premiere of the Spice Girls musical "Viva Forever." The stunning star upgraded what would have been a very simplistic look by draping a deep purple coat over her shoulders and carrying a metallic gold clutch, showing us she'd learned a lot about putting an outfit together.

Also that year, Beckham spoke to Vogue about how her style and the clothes she was creating had evolved. "I started challenging myself. Now that I feel more confident, creatively I feel more satisfied," she said. "It doesn't have to be tight. I love working with volume and draping away from the body."

Victoria Beckham had a major style evolution in 2016 that shocked the world. At the Victoria Beckham Fall fashion show for New York Fashion Week, Beckham looked decidedly more casual and swapped heels and structured dresses for an oversized, ribbed beige sweater, black jeans, and white sneakers. "People were really making quite a fuss over the fact that I was wearing trainers, which is crazy," she recalled to Vogue. She got candid with The Telegraph about her newfound love of more comfortable footwear after a long career towering in heels, admitting, "I just can't do heels any more. At least not when I'm working. I travel a lot. Clothes have to be simple and comfortable." 

She was also sans heels at the Victoria Beckham Spring/Summer fashion show in 2017. That time, she paired a baggy, collarless shirt with equally baggy pants, a black belt, and (shocker!) flat sandals. Beckham touched on her notable style shift with British Vogue in her letter to her younger self. "You will learn, as you mature, to swap heels for Stan Smith trainers, minidresses for crisp white shirts," she wrote.

While many of us swapped jeans for sweatpants during the COVID-19 pandemic, Victoria Beckham wasn't willing to give up her polished, fashion-forward aesthetic. She proved that in an Instagram snap that showed her wearing a sparkly black dress — despite not being able to head out on the town. "I'm not doing much but f*** it I still want to look nice this New Year's Eve," she captioned a series of glam selfies. 

The star gave us a further look at her pandemic aesthetic in another Instagram upload, which showed her posing outdoors with David Beckham. Though she was dressed more casually than we're used to, she was still far more stylish than many of us mere mortals dared to be when the world locked down, wearing long, multi-tone jeans and a baggy, high-neck sweater.

The following year, Beckham explained why she always looks put together no matter what the occasion. "I love to dress up. I love to put makeup on. I love to do my hair. It's who I am. I don't just dress up to look a certain way for other people. I do it because it makes me feel good about myself," she told The London Standard. Speaking specifically about her COVID style, she admitted, "Obviously, I was a little bit more relaxed at home but I still wanted to make an effort. I wasn't going to automatically put on sweatpants, even if they are very nice Reebok sweatpants."

After many years of gravitating toward more muted colors — black, of course, had long been Victoria's Beckham's go-to hue — she embraced fun, colorful fashion as the world opened up again in 2022, which marked a significant fashion chapter. At a Saint-Laurent show during Paris Fashion Week, we saw a bolder, flirtier, and more adventurous side to her fashion choices. Beckham's unexpected outfit consisted of a fluffy, semi-sheer purple sweater tucked into high-waisted, bright red PVC pants and matching, pointed-toe heels.

But that was far from the only colorful departure we saw from the woman formerly known as Posh Spice. She also surprised us while walking the streets of Paris in a ruched, green, long-sleeved maxi dress with feathers on her right elbow. She paired the bold number with even more daring bright red stiletto boots, and covered her eyes with oversized shades (even though it was dark). Beckham being Beckham though, she made the striking look work.

Though Victoria Beckham's style had come a long way, she made it clear in 2024 that her old looks would always have a place in her heart. She shared an Instagram photo of herself and David Beckham wearing the matching purple ensembles they initially wore on their wedding day 25 years earlier. "Yep, still got it! Can't believe it's been 25 years and they still fit!" she captioned the photos, which saw her slip back into her quirky, one-shoulder purple gown with floral appliques over the strap.

When she wasn't trying on her old clothes, the same the year she celebrated her 50th birthday, she put a more sophisticated twist on some of her old fashion go-tos. Beckham's more mature style had developed into a penchant for pantsuits and menswear-inspired outfits, paving the way for one of 2025's hottest fashion trends. The fashion-forward star harked back to her love for all-black at the "Lola" premiere and paired a well-tailored co-ord with black heels. We also saw her make a nod to her solo popstar days (when she'd wear black or white versions of the same outfit) as she wore a very similar pantsuit in all-white during Paris Fashion Week. Though this version had a deeper plunge and Beckham dared to go braless.

Beckham's style transformation has truly been a sight to behold, and we can't wait to see where her ever-evolving creativity takes her wardrobe (and clothing line) next. She put it best, though, while looking back over 25 years in the spotlight in 2020 with Harper's Bazaar U.K. "I wouldn't call it a reinvention. I'd say it's been an evolution," she said.