Who really designs the Victoria Beckham label?

Victoria Beckham's fifth collection at New York Fashion Week, unveiled yesterday, marked yet another milestone in her quest to be seen as a serious designer. Yet despite the show being described as one of the "stand-outs" so far, some scepticism remains as to whether Beckham, the former Spice Girl with no design background, is really the label's designer.
 
The new collection showcased a range of 26 slick and elegant designs which see the label moving ahead. Gone were the structural Roland Mouret-style shapes with which Beckham made her name, and in were more fluid shapes and fabrics.

Presented in a townhouse in New York's Upper East Side, the latest collection also introduced handbags for the first time, in a collaboration with the former Marc Jacobs designer Katie Hillier.
 
The collection wowed many journalists and buyers. Sophia Neophitou, editor-in-chief of 10 magazine, told the Guardian: "As a designer you have to show you can move on, and she did that today. I absolutely adored it."

Jim Gold, chief executive of high-end fashion store Bergdorf Goodman, added: "We see a lot of dresses, but hers really stand out".
 
Despite the accolades - and impressive sales currently worth around $7m a year - there are those who cannot quite believe that there isn’t a secret designer lurking behind the scenes. A New York Times article last week asked: 'Victoria Beckham: Is she for real?'.
 
In her favour is the fact that Beckham presents her designs personally at each new show, giving a detailed description of how she created each dress. This, her fans insist, makes Beckham a bona fide designer.

Ken Downing, fashion director of Neiman Marcus, said: "Her knowledge of dressmaking is impressive." ·