NEW YORK - Spice Girl turned footballer's wife turned respected designer Victoria Beckham on Sunday unveiled her latest collection at New York Fashion Week, showcasing safari chic and her first ever shoe line.

Husband David, popular in the United States thanks to his retail underwear line and footballing career at LA Galaxy, sat in the front row next to English editor-in-chief of Vogue Anna Wintour.

But while the whole family turned out for her 2014 fall/winter show, there was no sign of the couple's three younger children -- only eldest child Brooklyn, 15, who earlier this year made his modeling debut.

Victoria said the imminent opening of her first flagship store in London had "inspired and pushed" her "to focus on the DNA of my brand more than ever."

Long a fan of a very precise, tailored silhouette, her spring/summer 2015 collection showcased safari chic.

There were mini-dresses with boxy pockets, hopsack style, a long, belted coat, shirts with shoulder pads and a black jacket with shoulder pads worn over a soft, long white dress with wide black stripes at the bottom.

- From safari to florals -

There were also some floral prints, a rarity for Beckham.

She said she wanted to create "an eclectic uniform in the form of an exact yet wearable wardrobe that embodies the evolution of the collection."

But the chatter after the show was about her shoe collection: towering platform black sandals edged with beige, and white leather flats decorated with flowers.

"I have designed the show shoes under my own name in my London atelier for the first time," she said.

"Creating all the elements of the collection under one roof enabled me to complete and strengthen the silhouette and this has been key in the design journey for me."

Beckham was the first show on day four of New York Fashion Week, following US star Alexander Wang and the French-born Joseph Altuzarra on Friday night.
Altuzarra put gingham center stage at his collection, which explored feminity, sensuality, romanticism and freedom.

"Inspiration came to me when I saw the film Rosemary's Baby," he told AFP. He described the Oscar-winning horror flick as "very pretty but also very sinister."

"And I also saw the film 'Barry Lyndon'. It had a very romantic side but was also quite sad. And it is this feminity which interests me."

"Gingham is a little Rosemary for me. This was a bit of a child-like woman and I am interested in retransposing and retransforming gingham to make something which becomes quite sexual."

The gingham in his collection is picked out in cotton, crepe de chine, viscose, pink, black and blue. The cut was elegant and structured, straight skirts with splits, dresses decorated at the neck and fine pearl embroidery.

He showed light-weight tailored gingham suiting and body skimming dresses in soft pastels, seams sliced open and tied together with ribbon to reveal skin.

Moroccan textiles playfully re-worked into pencil skirts, sharp coats were trimmed with leather and there were romantic and delicate pearl-embroidered tulle slip dresses.

Since launching his label in New York in 2008 he has gone from strength to strength. He announced Thursday that he was designing a collection for American discount retail outlet Target, due in store on September 14.

Later on Sunday is DKNY, Diane von Furstenberg, Opening Ceremony, Vivienne Tam and Anthony Vaccarello for Versus Versace.

by Brigitte DUSSEAU