Despite her broken foot, Victoria Beckham couldn’t stop beaming last night as she proudly watched the catwalk show of her latest collection during Paris Fashion Week.
However, it wasn’t only professional pride behind her smile – it was the fact that she was surrounded by her family.
Her husband David, 48, was in tow, along with their 12-year-old daughter Harper and sons Brooklyn, 24, and 19-year-old Cruz.
But for Victoria, there was one person on the front row whose presence especially warmed her heart – her daughter-in-law Nicola Peltz.
Dressed in a tight-fitting, thigh-skimming, red VB dress, Nicola cheered along with the rest of the chic crowd – something that 18 months ago Victoria never thought she’d see as a feud threatened to tear her family apart.
Nicola’s support was all the more poignant after it emerged a few weeks ago that Victoria’s son Romeo, 21, and his model girlfriend Mia Regan had split up.
Mrs Beckham, who was very close to Mia, also 21, and used her as a muse for her label, was devastated.
The success of the show at the Hotel Salomon de Rothschild in central Paris was marred briefly by activists from the animal rights group Peta, who stormed on to the catwalk with signs reading ‘Viva Vegan Leather’.
The show resumed after the demonstrators, wearing tops bearing the slogans ‘Animals aren’t fabric’ and ‘Turn your back on animal skins’, were led away by security guards.
The Mail can reveal that Nicola and Victoria – who was on crutches after injuring herself while working out on Valentine’s Day – are said to be ‘super close’ by those who know the Beckhams, something the former Spice Girl is said to be ‘thrilled about’.
One source said: ‘Mia and Victoria have always been the two that have been close – in fact, Mia was at her side through the fallout with Nicola and was a constant support. While Romeo and Mia are still friends, for Victoria it isn’t the same, so she is so relieved to have Nicola in her life properly now.
‘Victoria is all about family, and she has longed to have close relationships with her sons’ partners.’
The reconciliation has been quite a journey. A distinct froideur fell over the relationship during preparations for Nicola and Brooklyn’s wedding in May 2022.
Speculation was rife at the time, but it appeared that the problems began after it emerged that Victoria didn’t have time to make Nicola’s wedding dress.
Instead, the bride wore Valentino – and later gave an interview insisting that ditching Victoria’s offer was not intended to be a slight against her new mother-in-law.
Nicola said: ‘I was going to and I really wanted to, and then a few months down the line, she realized that her atelier couldn’t do it, so then I had to pick another dress.’ Yet last month, Nicola, 29, seemed to quash all talk of a rift once and for all, when she described her mother-in-law as a genius for designing the white trouser suit she wore on the red carpet for the premiere of her movie Lola.
And just a few days ago Victoria had teased her fans that her daughter-in-law was going to appear on the catwalk at the much anticipated fashion event when she posted a photograph on Instagram of the pair at a fitting together.
Alongside the selfie – something that would have been inconceivable two years ago – the fashion designer wrote: ‘Pre-show prep and fittings in Paris!! Kisses @NicolaAnnePeltzBeckham xx.’ While it may have been a way to get extra publicity for the event, the pair are undoubtedly closer than ever.
A day after, the American actress was seen wearing the spring/summer 2001 Dolce & Gabbana biker jacket belonging to Victoria when she was best known as Posh Spice.
The former singer wore it along with chequerboard jeans and tinted aviators to stand in the terraces of Old Trafford and watch Manchester United be crowned Premier League Champions in 2001 when Brooklyn was just two.
It was perhaps confirmation that Nicola had finally been given the key to her mother-in-law’s wardrobe – something other 20-something women can only dream of. The two women are also said to be in constant contact despite living thousands of miles apart, with Nicola in Los Angeles and Victoria mostly living in London.
Brooklyn is said to be ‘thrilled and relieved’ that his wife and beloved mother have buried the hatchet. One source says that ‘time was a great healer’, but now the two women are ‘super close’.
Things began to blow over following Brooklyn and Nicola’s star-studded wedding in Florida almost two years ago, and Nicola is now said to ‘love’ spending time with the Beckhams, whom she sees as being a ‘much smaller and cosier family’ than her own.
The Peltz clan is huge – Nicola has seven siblings – so for her, hanging out Chez Beckham is ‘chilled’. One source said: ‘While the Beckhams are very much seen as the A-list, actually compared to the Peltzes being around them is much calmer. Nicola has grown to really love that. It’s somewhere she can relax.’ They enjoy weekends together at the Beckhams’ family home in Oxfordshire where they spend Sunday afternoons enjoying roast dinners, and giggling over vodka cocktails.
Nicola has also introduced the Beckham family to her favourite memory game, called Fish Bowl.
Her own upbringing was very different from that of her husband. She is the daughter of billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz. He has been, at times, as controversial as they come and is a huge supporter of Donald Trump.
Mr Peltz is the subject of controversy in the US where he is trying to gain two seats on the Disney board – something which is being resisted by executives there.
But historically, they have been seen as a powerful US family and one which for some time the Beckhams were said to feel inferior to.
Friends of the Beckhams believe that the power dynamic has shifted – particularly as they become more established in the US.
One source said: ‘David and Victoria felt like the poor relations when they spent time with the Peltz’s. They are so used to being the richest and the most famous. Now the Beckhams are happier in their own skin, there has been a big power shift.’
And if there is just one more bit of domesticity that would make Victoria even happier as she prepares to turn 50 next month, it would surely be for Nicola to give her the gift of a grandchild.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
