文/Sarah+Lyall+譯/宋怡秋

她是昔日的樂壇偶像“時髦辣妹”，

她是足壇巨星貝克漢姆的優(yōu)雅賢妻，

她還是擁有四個孩子的潮流辣媽。

然而，維多利亞·貝克漢姆

并不滿足于僅僅擁有上述身份，

她希望自己能躋身時尚界，

打造屬于自己的時尚帝國。

短短幾年間，

她憑借自己不懈的努力

和無所畏懼的開拓精神

成為特立獨(dú)行的時尚先鋒，

完美實(shí)現(xiàn)了

從歌手到職業(yè)時尚設(shè)計師的華麗蛻變。

Past the closed-circuit cameras， past the nondisclosure-agreement-wielding security guard， past the Damien Hirst1） pictures， past the hyper-organized assistant and the bold monochrome2） walls and the sumptuous3） gray sofas and the three giant orchids—past all the accouterments4） of the celebrity household—a toddler sat on the floor， playing with her nanny.

The nanny， a minute5）， seemingly nondescript6） person in a careless ponytail， was doing the decorating. She looked up. “Im sorry—Ill be looking after her while we do this，” she said， a remark that prompted a moment of severe cognitive dissonance7）， because this was not the nanny at all， but Victoria Beckham herself， barefoot， T-shirted， skin glowing， so tiny as to appear to be in danger of dissolving into the furniture.

Harper， 2， is Beckhams daughter， but of course we know that already. We know it just as we already know the names of Beckhams three sons， the name of her husband， her Spice Girls8） handle9） （Posh Spice）， and many other interesting Beckham-related facts both important and trivial.

Beckham seized fame by the collar in 1996， when the Spice Girls emerged to become， briefly， the biggest thing in girl bands since the Supremes10）； fame in turn grabbed her by the throat when she married David， then a dishy11） Manchester United midfielder with mercurial12） hair， boundless talent， and a yen13） for the limelight. They were more than the sum of their parts； he， one of the worlds most famous soccer players， with a deadly free kick； she， the impossibly thin， impossibly high-heeled quintessential14） wife， followed everywhere， photographed everywhere， even her most banal utterances repeated and dissected.

But in the last few years， a new kind of renown has been creeping up on15） Victoria Beckham. This is the renown that comes from having a serious job and being seriously good at it. Five years after she shocked the blasé16） New York fashion world by unveiling a collection of beautifully made， elegant dresses that were chic and understated17） and ultra-flattering， Beckham has established herself as a powerful force in the industry， proving again and again that she is far more than another celebrity slapping her name onto someone elses product.

She knows her product intimately—she often says she designs clothes that she herself fantasizes about wearing—and they reflect her tastes： nothing busy， very few prints， color used sparingly， lots of calm clean grays， creams， navys， blacks. Her first collection evoked the work of Roland Mouret18）， one of whose dresses she made famous when she wore it to Davids official introduction ceremony with the Los Angeles Galaxy19）， but she has gradually acquired a new boldness； the confidence to find her own style.

Beckhams ready-to-wear collection is still purposely small， but she is thinking big. She has branched out into sunglasses， handbags， and denim. She has started a younger， less expensive line， Victoria， Victoria Beckham， which features clothes that are less tailored， more casual， more colorful. She has taken her brand global and is expanding most rapidly in the Asian markets， particularly China.

Her ambition is endless. “I want to reach as many women throughout the world as I can，” she said. “There are more categories that I want to enter into. I have five categories at the moment. But at some point I would love to do shoes， I would love to do fragrance， I would love to do makeup， I would like to do underwear. There are so many things I want to do.”

At the moment， though， it was time to eat lunch. （Yes， she eats， though on the other hand she spends a large chunk of time each day doing a Tracy Anderson20） workout with a personal trainer.） We moved to the table. On one wall was a huge collage-y Julian Schnabel21）； on another， a David Beckham original： a blown-up22） black-and-white photograph of the four children bouncing together on a bed. The house is a rental， and Beckham said she missed Los Angeles where the family lived most recently—the climate， the openness， the work ethic. “I am very career minded， and I think my personality is more suited to America，” she said. “I am a working mum.”

She is also a perfectionist involved in every aspect of her company， from the smallest detail on a cuff， to the type of cushions on the spectators chairs at her fashion shows， to the largest strategic decision about where she wants the company to go. From the beginning， Beckham said， she realized that her work was “not just turning up on the red carpet wearing my dresses.” She has in the last few seasons begun doing proper runway shows， but wisely started out doing small presentations， making a point of23） introducing each collection personally， walking the buyers and editors and sales reps through24） every aspect of every piece， dazzling them with her command of her product. She frequently schedules in-store events in which she talks to customers trying on her clothes in the dressing room， advising them even as25） they advise her right back.

Lunch—corn soup followed by a salad of greens and fruit for Beckham； sushi for Beckhams assistant and me； and a fruit platter26） for everyone—was prepared and served by a chef. “You are going to think this is real—this is what I get every day！” Beckham said. But it is not， apparently. “Chris”—that is the chef—“comes in a couple of days a week and might make a giant lasagna27） so I can put it in the freezer and then do it myself，” Beckham said. “David does the cooking.”

David does the cooking？ “Yes， hes really good，” his wife said. When David was playing soccer in Italy a few years ago， she explained， the family was living in L.A.， and he was left alone on his days off. “So he decided to go to culinary school.”

She says he is a hands-on28） father， just as she is a hands-on mother. The nanny apparently works just a few days a week， too， and so Harper sat with us at lunch. If they can， either Victoria or David always drives the children to school—three boys， three different schools—and collects them. At least one of them， she said， is at every parents meeting， every play， every sports event.

Beckham said that she has never missed a birthday， and that it is important to her to keep the children grounded29） and unspoiled. Both she and David come from close， hard-working families： Davids father was a gas-company engineer， and hers was an electrical wholesaler.

After lunch， Beckham put Harper down for her nap， the nanny having materialized30）； sat for hair and makeup； changed into her work outfit， all in black. The ordered taxi failed to show up， so an operative from the on-site Beckham security detail31） drove us to Beckham Ventures Ltd.， where the various teams—the handbag group， the denim group， the financial group—all work in a big open-plan32） space， and where Beckham was due to have her photograph taken by Juergen Teller33）.

Beckham is incredibly controlling of her image. Even in supposedly candid34） photographs， she is invariably shown posing as if she were on the red carpet： one leg in front of the other， body leaning back so that her hips jut forward and emphasize the slenderness of her form.

She never smiles—it is almost as if someone once told her that she looks better scowling35）—and instead affects36） a mien37） of distant hauteur38） that can come across as snobbishness， but in person reads more like shyness and insecurity. “I dunno，” she said， when asked about the no-smiling phenomenon. “I smile in family pictures.” Perhaps， she mused， the reputation she got for being moody during the Spice era stuck. Also， she said， “When youre in a position to be paparazzi-ed just walking down the street， youd look a little daft if you were smiling all the time.”

She says she is relaxed about how she looks in pictures. “I dont want to be made to look like Im 25，” she said. “Im 39. I dont have any issues with my age.” That is what she said， at least. But she fretted a bit before the session， and as Teller prepared to take her picture she asked—jokingly， but not—that he go easy on her wrinkles （not that she has any noticeable ones）.

David， who spoke on the phone to his wife several times during the afternoon but， alas， never appeared in the flesh， is no slouch39） in the fashion department， either. They work well together， she said， and then began talking without irony about the brand—the brand she and David have fashioned together， along with Simon Fuller40）， creator of American Idol—as if being part of a brand was the most normal thing in the world； as if that is simply what people do.

“You know， we dont look at it as a big brand，” she said. “It is， but it happened very， very naturally. It seems that now everybody wants to make a brand； everybody wants to build a brand. Ours happened very organically.” And then she said： “The most important thing is each other and the children.”

The Beckham brand is one thing； the Victoria Beckham brand is another. “I just wanted to create beautiful clothes， good quality clothes I wanted to wear myself，” she said. “And then I wanted to create handbags， because I couldnt find the right handbag that I wanted to carry. Then I couldnt find the right sunglasses， so I decided to make my own sunglasses.”

There is no stopping her. “I want to get bigger and bigger，” she said. “I absolutely want an empire.”

走過閉路攝像機(jī)，走過需要遵守保密協(xié)議的安保人員，走過達(dá)米恩·赫斯特的畫作，走過那名做事極為干練的助理，走過醒目的單色墻壁、奢華的灰色沙發(fā)和三株高大的蘭花——走過名人家中的所有這些擺設(shè)——只見一個學(xué)步期的孩子坐在地上，正和她的保姆玩耍。

那名保姆身材瘦小，看上去毫不起眼，頭發(fā)隨意地扎成一個馬尾。她正在為孩子打扮。她抬頭看了一眼。“抱歉，咱們在采訪時我還得照看她?！彼f。她的話引發(fā)了一個在認(rèn)知上極不協(xié)調(diào)的瞬間，因?yàn)樗静皇鞘裁幢Ｄ?，而是維多利亞·貝克漢姆本人。她光著腳，穿著T恤，容光煥發(fā)，纖瘦得仿佛會淹沒在家具的包圍之中。

哈珀今年兩歲（編注：英文原文發(fā)表于2013年10月），是維多利亞的女兒。當(dāng)然，這我們早就知道了，就像我們早就知道維多利亞三個兒子的名字、她丈夫的名字、她在辣妹組合的稱號（時髦辣妹），以及其他許多與她相關(guān)的趣事，既有重要的事又有瑣碎的事。

1996年，維多利亞為了成名而努力拼搏，那時辣妹組合嶄露頭角，一時成為繼至高無上樂隊之后最成功的女子樂團(tuán)；而當(dāng)她與大衛(wèi)結(jié)婚時，名聲又反過來壓得她喘不過氣。當(dāng)時的大衛(wèi)在曼聯(lián)踢中場，是個發(fā)型多變、天賦極高、渴望引人注目的帥哥。兩人結(jié)合的效應(yīng)超過了他們各自效應(yīng)的總和；他以精準(zhǔn)的任意球著稱，是世界上最著名的足球運(yùn)動員之一；而她則是瘦到不可思議、鞋跟高到不可思議的模范賢妻，無論到哪兒都會被人跟隨、被人拍照，連她說過的最平常的話都會被轉(zhuǎn)述和解讀。

但在最近幾年，一種新的名聲已經(jīng)悄然落在維多利亞·貝克漢姆的身上。這種名聲來自于她有一份正經(jīng)的工作以及她真的擅長這份工作。她曾發(fā)布了一系列制作精美、優(yōu)雅別致、看似低調(diào)卻極為襯人的時裝，令對此已司空見慣的紐約時尚界為之驚艷。在此五年之后，維多利亞已經(jīng)使自己成為業(yè)界的一支重要力量，一次次地證明她遠(yuǎn)不是又一個將自己名字貼在別人產(chǎn)品上的名人。

她對自己的產(chǎn)品了如指掌——她常說她設(shè)計的是她幻想自己也會穿的衣服——這些服裝反映了她的品味：毫無雜亂感，很少有印花圖案，用色有節(jié)制，大量使用沉穩(wěn)干凈的灰色、米色、藏青色和黑色。她推出的第一個時裝系列令人聯(lián)想到羅蘭·穆雷的作品——她曾身著穆雷設(shè)計的一款禮服出席大衛(wèi)加入洛杉磯銀河隊的正式發(fā)布會，令那款禮服廣為人知。但她逐漸獲得了新的勇氣和自信去尋找自己的風(fēng)格。

維多利亞仍有意將成衣系列控制在較小規(guī)模，但她的想法很宏大。她已將業(yè)務(wù)范圍擴(kuò)展至太陽鏡、手提包和牛仔褲。她還開創(chuàng)了一個更為年輕化、價格沒那么昂貴的品牌——維多利亞-維多利亞·貝克漢姆。該品牌的服裝剪裁不那么修身，更加休閑，色彩也更鮮艷。她已將自己的品牌推廣至全球，其在亞洲市場特別是中國市場的擴(kuò)張最為迅速。

她雄心勃勃，沒有止境?！拔蚁胍M我所能，向全世界盡可能多的女性推廣我的品牌，”她說，“我還想涉足更多的品類。目前我有五類產(chǎn)品。但說不好什么時候我會想做鞋，想做香水，想做化妝品，想做內(nèi)衣。我有太多東西都想做。”

不過這會兒，午餐時間到了。（是的，她也吃東西。不過另一方面，她每天都會花大量時間在私人教練的指導(dǎo)下做特雷西·安德森式的健身訓(xùn)練。）我們走到餐桌前就座。餐廳的一面墻上，掛著一幅朱利安·施納貝爾的巨幅拼貼畫風(fēng)格作品，另一面墻上則是大衛(wèi)·貝克漢姆的原創(chuàng)作品：一張四個孩子在床上一起蹦跳的黑白放大照片。房子是租的。維多利亞說她很想念前一陣和家人一起住過的洛杉磯——想念那里的氣候、那里開放的氛圍和敬業(yè)精神?！拔业氖聵I(yè)心很強(qiáng)，我覺得我的個性更適合美國，”她說，“我是名職場媽媽?！?/p>

她還是一個完美主義者，會參與到公司各方面的事務(wù)，從袖口上最微小的細(xì)節(jié)，到她舉辦的時裝秀上觀眾席坐墊的式樣，再到她想讓公司向何處發(fā)展的最重要的戰(zhàn)略決策。維多利亞說，從一開始她就意識到，她的工作“不只是穿著自己品牌的服裝出現(xiàn)在紅毯上那么簡單”。在過去幾個時裝季，她已經(jīng)開始推出正式的T臺時裝秀，但她很明智地從舉辦小型展示會著手，一定要親自介紹每一個系列，為買家、編輯和銷售代表耐心介紹每件產(chǎn)品的方方面面，而她對自己產(chǎn)品的熟悉程度也令眾人贊嘆不已。她經(jīng)常在店里舉辦活動，期間與在試衣間試穿衣服的顧客們交談，向她們提出建議，同時也得到她們反饋的意見。

午餐由一名廚師做好奉上——為維多利亞準(zhǔn)備的是玉米濃湯，然后是蔬菜水果色拉；為她的助手和我準(zhǔn)備的是壽司；最后則是每人一份的水果拼盤。“你會認(rèn)為這是真的——這就是我每天吃的東西！”維多利亞說。但顯然不是這樣?！翱死锼埂薄褪悄俏粡N師——“每周來兩三天，可能會做一份超大的意大利千層面，我可以放在冰箱里，然后自己再加熱，”維多利亞說，“平時是大衛(wèi)做飯?！?/p>

大衛(wèi)做飯？“是的，他做得很好。”大衛(wèi)的妻子說。她解釋說，幾年前大衛(wèi)在意大利踢球時，家人都住在洛杉磯，他在休息日時孤身一人，“于是他決定去上烹飪學(xué)?！薄?/p>

她說大衛(wèi)是一個凡事親力親為的父親，就像她是個事事操持的母親。她家的保姆似乎也是一周只工作幾天，因此午餐時哈珀一直和我們在一起。只要情況允許，維多利亞或者大衛(wèi)總會親自開車送孩子們上學(xué)——三個男孩分別就讀于三所不同的學(xué)?！€要接他們。維多利亞說，學(xué)校每次開家長會、運(yùn)動會或是有演出時，他們兩人至少會有一人到場。

維多利亞說，她從未錯過孩子們的生日，而她認(rèn)為非常重要的一點(diǎn)是不要寵壞孩子，要讓他們腳踏實(shí)地。她和大衛(wèi)都來自關(guān)系親密、講求吃苦耐勞的家庭：大衛(wèi)的父親是煤氣公司的技師，而她的父親則是一名電氣批發(fā)商。

午餐過后，維多利亞放下哈珀讓她午睡，保姆突然現(xiàn)身了；她則坐下來打理頭發(fā)和化妝；然后換上全黑的職業(yè)套裝。預(yù)約的出租車沒有出現(xiàn)，于是一位在場的貝克漢姆保安分隊的安保人員開車送我們到貝克漢姆風(fēng)險投資有限公司。公司的各個團(tuán)隊——手提包設(shè)計團(tuán)隊、牛仔褲設(shè)計團(tuán)隊、財務(wù)部門——全都在一個超大的開放式空間里工作，而尤爾根·泰勒為維多利亞拍照的地點(diǎn)也約在這里。

維多利亞對自身形象的管理是超乎想象的。即使在那些可能是抓拍的照片中，她也總是擺出仿佛是在紅毯上的姿勢：一條腿在另一條腿前面，身體向后傾斜，使髖部向前探出，突顯其身材的修長苗條。

她從來不笑——就像是有人曾對她說她板著臉更好看一樣——轉(zhuǎn)而擺出一副冷淡、傲慢的神態(tài)，會給人以勢利的印象，但在親眼見到她本人時，你會覺得那更像是害羞和不自信的表現(xiàn)?！拔也恢溃碑?dāng)問到她從來不笑這件事時，她回答說，“我和家人一起拍照時都會笑?！彼尖庵f，或許是她在辣妹組合時期落下的喜怒無常的名聲延續(xù)了下來。她又說：“當(dāng)你走在街上都能被狗仔隊跟拍時，如果你還一直微笑，看起來就有點(diǎn)傻了?！?/p>

維多利亞說她對自己被拍成什么樣不太在意。“我不想被弄得看起來好像25歲似的，”她說，“我39歲了，我對自己的年齡沒有任何困擾?！敝辽偎沁@樣說的。不過，在拍攝環(huán)節(jié)之前她還是有點(diǎn)不安，在泰勒準(zhǔn)備為她拍照時，她要求泰勒——用玩笑的口吻，但不是玩笑——對她的皺紋手下留情（其實(shí)她并沒有什么明顯的皺紋）。

大衛(wèi)在時尚領(lǐng)域也頗為內(nèi)行——他在下午給妻子打過幾次電話，但可惜他本人并沒有露面。她說他們在一起工作很合拍，接著她又不帶調(diào)侃地談起他們的品牌——她和大衛(wèi)以及《美國偶像》創(chuàng)始人西蒙·福勒共同打造的品牌——仿佛作為一個品牌的一員是世上最平常的事，仿佛這不過是人人都在做的事。

“你知道，我們并沒有把它當(dāng)成一個很大的品牌，”她說，“它是個大品牌，但它的發(fā)展非常自然?，F(xiàn)在好像人人都想做一個品牌；人人都想打造一個品牌。我們的品牌是自然而然地發(fā)展起來的。”她接著又說：“最重要的還是彼此和孩子?！?/p>

貝克漢姆品牌是一回事，維多利亞·貝克漢姆品牌則是另一回事?！拔抑幌胫谱髯约合氪┑?、品質(zhì)上乘的漂亮衣服，”她說，“然后我又想設(shè)計手提包，因?yàn)槲艺也坏阶约合肓嗟暮线m的手提包。再后來，我找不到合適的太陽鏡，于是我決定做自己的太陽鏡?！?/p>

沒有什么能阻擋她?！拔蚁胍阶鲈酱螅彼f，“我絕對想要做成一個時尚帝國?！?/p>

1. Damien Hirst：達(dá)米恩·赫斯特（1965～），英國藝術(shù)家，其作品極具爭議性。

2. monochrome [?m?n??kr??m] adj. 單色的

3. sumptuous [?s?mpt?u?s] adj. 華貴的，豪華的

4. accouterments [??ku?t?m?nts] n. [復(fù)] （外表的）裝飾；裝飾品

5. minute [ma??nju?t] adj. 極小的，微小的

6. nondescript [?n?nd??skr?pt] adj. 毫無特色的；毫無吸引力的

7. dissonance [?d?s?n?ns] adj. 不和諧；不一致

8. Spice Girls：英國辣妹組合，世界上最成功、影響力最深遠(yuǎn)的女子流行組合之一，代表作為單曲“Wannabe”。

9. handle [?h?nd（?）l] n. （尤指奇怪的）名字，名稱；別號

10. the Supremes：至高無上樂隊，20世紀(jì)60年代在美國流行樂壇盛極一時的女子三重唱組合

11. dishy [?d??i] adj. （尤指女人眼中的男人）帥氣的，迷人的

12. mercurial [m??（r）?kj??ri?l] adj. 多變的；變化無常的

13. yen [jen] n. 渴望，熱望

14. quintessential [?kw?nt??sen?（?）l] adj. 典范的；典型的

15. creep up on （sb.）：（某人）不知不覺中體驗(yàn)到（某種情感或狀態(tài)）

16. blasé [?blɑ?ze?] adj. （因司空見慣而）無動于衷的

17. understated [??nd?（r）?ste?t?d] adj. （服裝、外表等）樸素的；低調(diào)的

18. Roland Mouret：羅蘭·穆雷（1961～），法籍時裝設(shè)計師，其設(shè)計的結(jié)構(gòu)復(fù)雜的解構(gòu)主義裙裝頗受明星青睞。

19. Los Angeles Galaxy：洛杉磯銀河隊，美國職業(yè)足球大聯(lián)盟（MLS）的球隊之一

20. Tracy Anderson：特雷西·安德森（1975～），美國知名健身教練，被譽(yù)為“好萊塢塑身天后”，是眾多明星的瘦身顧問。

21. Julian Schnabel：朱利安·施納貝爾（1951～），美國當(dāng)代藝術(shù)家，新表現(xiàn)主義運(yùn)動的代表人物，其創(chuàng)作涉及多個領(lǐng)域，如攝影、繪畫、雕塑、電影執(zhí)導(dǎo)等，代表作為電影《潛水鐘與蝴蝶》（The Diving Bell and the Butterfly）。

22. blown-up：（照片）放大的

23. make a point of （doing sth.）：一貫注重；重視；明確要做

24. walk （sb.） through：耐心地給（某人）示范；詳細(xì)地教授（某人）

25. even as：正當(dāng)，恰好在……的時候

26. platter [?pl?t?（r）] n. （尤指奶酪和水果的）大拼盤

27. lasagna [l??z?nj?] n. 意大利千層面（以多層寬面條夾奶酪、肉末和蔬菜制成）

28. hands-on：親歷親為的；事事過問的

29. grounded [?ɡra?nd?d] adj. 頭腦清醒的；腳踏實(shí)地的；理智的

30. materialize [m??t??ri?la?z] vi. 突然出現(xiàn)

31. detail [?di?te?l] n. 分遣隊；小隊

32. open-plan：（建筑物、辦公室、房間等）開敞式的，大開間的，無隔斷的

33. Juergen Teller：尤爾根·泰勒（1964～），德裔藝術(shù)家、時尚攝影師

34. candid [?k?nd?d] adj. （照片）趁人不備時拍攝的，抓拍的

35. scowl [ska?l] vi. 陰沉著臉，繃著臉

36. affect [??fekt] vt. 假裝；佯裝；裝出……的樣子

37. mien [mi?n] n. 儀表；（尤指）神態(tài)

38. hauteur [???t??（r）] n. 傲慢

39. be no slouch：擅長（某類活動）

40. Simon Fuller：西蒙·福勒（1954～），美國著名娛樂節(jié)目制作人，《美國偶像》（American Idol）的創(chuàng)始人，貝克漢姆夫婦的好友