Victoria Beckham: 'Everyone thinks Im going to be a cow'

Charming, disarming, affable, self-effacing - not words one would readily associate with Victoria Beckham. Or at least the pouting persona channelled through the plentiful paparazzi images of her that litter glossies, gossip rags and blogs on a daily basis.

"Everyone thinks I'm going to be a cow," said the pop star-turned-designer without a hint of self-pity at yesterday's Vogue Festival Q&A. "I get it when I see the photos." Why not smile, then? It's easy to ask. Who knows - maybe it's not so easy to break the habit of a famous lifetime. Nevertheless, Beckham successfully took ownership of all of the aforementioned adjectives once inside the venue's auditorium.

IN PICTURES: Victoria Beckham autumn/winter 2013

Amongst the obligatory questions about inspiration - it comes from travelling, being a wife and a mother - and whether she'll ever show in London - "never say never" - the 39-year-old gave rare insight into her life as a now extremely successful fashion designer and businesswoman.

Her eponymous brand blossomed as soon as she was in a position to fund it fully herself without having to outsource any licensing. Her small, Battersea-based team have grown with her; some of them started in the company as interns and now hold senior positions (cue an influx of intern applications). It's in this studio that all her mainline pieces are made, hence the hefty price tags, while her cheaper Victoria line is outsourced to manufacturers in Portugal. "There were a lot of raised eyebrows - or those that could raise their eyebrows - when they heard I was going to do this," she said of the brand's birth. "A lot of people had preconceptions, but I didn't go out to prove anybody wrong. I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it."

Some straight talk from friend and fellow designer Marc Jacobs has made her realise that those preconceptions will always be there but that her clothes can "speak for themselves" - though she does feel such notions are "less and less now". "The clothes are selling, the retailers are happy, the brand is growing, the categories are growing and people can't argue with that," she said confidently.

So how does she begin the design process? "I normally get naked and make clothes on myself", which perhaps illustrates her lack of technical ability having spent her formative years in school of pop.

READ: Victoria Beckham's guide to London

She constantly feels "guilty" and like she's "losing the plot" when it comes to juggling family and work, and thinks anyone woman doesn't admit to that struggle is lying. Women, she thinks, should do more for other women.

A few voyeuristic details: she does a Tracy Anderson workout three times a week, she "always" wears flats, shock horror, and she's a "control freak".

"If you'd told me how many people were going to be here I might have got up and sung. That would have been a worry," she announced as the session drew to a close, ensuring her self-effacing sense of humour hadn't been missed. So while her past as a performer may still be the proverbial albatross around her neck, it's clear she wouldn't have got to where she is now without a healthy dose of the very thing her fizzy pop group made little girls all over the world believe in - girl power.

Via: Victoria Beckham: 'Everyone thinks Im going to be a cow'