VICTORIA BECKHAM is Vogue’s October cover star, we can reveal today. Photographed by Lachlan Bailey, the shoot is accompanied by a letter that the designer has written to herself entitled, “What I wish I’d known,” which reveals the moment she fell in love with David, how she feels about her changing taste in fashion and the advice that she would give to her teenage self.
“Learn more about football, especially the offside rule,” she tells herself, referring to her husband’s former career. “And yes, love at first sight does exist. It will happen to you in the Manchester United players’ lounge – although you will get a little drunk, so exact details are hazy,” Beckham adds, disclosing the details of the couple's first meeting.
“While the other football players stand at the bar drinking with their mates, you will see David standing aside with his family. (He’s not even in the first team at this stage – you are the famous one.) And he has such a cute smile. You, too, are close to your family, and you will think how similar he feels to you. He’s going to ask for your number. (He still has the London-to-Manchester plane ticket on which you wrote it.)"
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The mother-of-four addresses her 18-year-old self sympathetically, revealing the insecurities that she faced as a teenager.
"I know you are struggling right now,” she says, “You are not the prettiest, or the thinnest, or the best at dancing at the Laine Theatre Arts college. You have never properly fitted in, although you are sharing your Surrey school digs with really nice girls. You have bad acne. You think the principal has put you at the back of the end-of-year show (in a humiliatingly bright purple Lycra leotard) because you are too plump to go at the front. (This may or may not be true.)"
She takes a more light-hearted stance when it comes to looking back at how her sense of style has evolved, from her Spice Girls days to becoming one of the most popular high-end designers of her time.
“You are going to have so much fun with your clothes – PVC catsuits; chokers that say absurd things; weird spiky blonde hair,” the multi-British Fashion Award winner recalls. “It will never occur to you that you appear ridiculous. You will turn up at awards ceremonies resembling a drag queen. But I look back at you and smile. It will add interest to your life to go from one extreme to another. I love the fact that you will feel free to express yourself."
"Fashion will take on added stature one day, but try not to be stifled by it. You will learn, as you mature, to swap heels for Stan Smith trainers, minidresses for crisp white shirts. And you will never be one of those people who just roll out of bed."
Related reading: Enjoy the Victoria Beckham interview from the October issue here.
Read Victoria Beckham's letter in full, with the accompanying shoot, in October Vogue – on newsstands from Thursday 8 September. Or subscribe to Vogue here for only £19.99 for 12 issues including a free gift and free instant access to the iPad/iPhone edition.
