Behind her polished image, Victoria Beckham faced a crisis that nearly destroyed her fashion empire. In the Netflix documentary Victoria Beckham, the designer and former Spice Girl shares how mismanagement and lavish expenses left her company “tens of millions in the red.”
“This business is everything to me,” she said. “But it’s been a hell of a journey. I almost lost everything. I cried every day before work because it felt like fighting fires nonstop.”
Turning to David Beckham for Help
In the film, Beckham recalls depending on her husband, David Beckham, for financial support when the brand was collapsing. “Yes, I went home to my husband, but also to my business partner. And I hated having to ask for help,” she admitted.
David revealed how painful that period was. “When we met, Victoria was wealthier than me. For her to come and say, ‘The business needs more money,’ was hard for both of us. I couldn’t keep funding it forever. Something had to change.”
Meeting the Investor Who Changed Everything
That change came with David Belhassen, an investor who described the company’s state as a “disaster.” He discovered excessive spending — from £70,000 a year on office plants to £15,000 annually for someone to water them.
“I told her we had to restructure everything,” Belhassen said. “It wasn’t easy for her to hear, but she listened.”
Victoria later admitted, “I didn’t go to business school. I came from entertainment, and I didn’t understand how wasteful we were — flying furniture across the world, 15 types of coat linings… it was madness.”
Learning to Lead Her Own Brand
Beckham realized her celebrity status had made staff afraid to say no. “People thought I wasn’t used to hearing ‘no,’ and that was dangerous,” she said. “I needed to put Victoria Beckham back into Victoria Beckham.”
Her honesty and new direction marked a turning point — transforming her struggling label into a respected luxury house celebrated for precision tailoring and timeless design.
Confronting Past Challenges
The documentary also explores Beckham’s emotional battles, including her past eating disorder and public criticism. She recalled being weighed on live TV after giving birth, saying, “I was really young, and it hurt deeply.”
David reflected, “My Victoria — the one who laughs at home — started to fade because of constant judgment.”
Victoria said, “I lost all sense of reality. I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror. I tried to control what I could — my clothes, my weight — in unhealthy ways.”
A New Chapter of Strength
Today, Beckham embraces success with gratitude. “I’m proud and not ashamed to say I’m ambitious,” she said. “I’ve still got a lot I want to do. I’m not stopping yet.”
Her story — one of resilience, humility, and reinvention — proves that even fashion royalty must sometimes rebuild from the ground up.
