Victoria Beckham is not trying to make perfume that everyone agrees on. The former Spice Girls star, fashion designer and Victoria Beckham Beauty founder said in an interview published Wednesday, 9 September 2026, that she sees polarising reactions as a positive when creating fragrance. For Beckham, a scent getting people talking can be more interesting than one designed to please everyone.
She made the comments as she introduced Hotel Portofino, a woody spicy extrait de parfum inspired by the 1997 Italian trip she took with husband David Beckham while their relationship was still new. The fragrance revisits the same memory behind Portofino '97 but takes it into a deeper, more concentrated direction. Beckham described the newer scent as a chapter about staying in love rather than the initial rush of falling for someone.
Beckham Says 'Polarising' Is a Good Thing
'If something is polarizing, that's a good thing,' Beckham said while discussing her fragrance philosophy. She recalled initially finding Portofino '97 strange, putting it down and then repeatedly returning to it until she fell for the scent. That push and pull is the kind of reaction she said she values when developing perfume.
Beckham also said she would rather make something interesting than something 'boring and safe'. She linked that instinct to her fashion work, where unexpected colour combinations and a mix of masculine and feminine references are recurring parts of the Victoria Beckham aesthetic. Her fragrances, she said, should feel unexpected, recognisably hers and different from what is already available.
The wider Victoria Beckham Beauty fragrance collection reflects that approach through distinctly different profiles. According to the brand, Portofino '97 combines bergamot, amber and vetiver, while Suite 302 centres black cherry, leather and tobacco leaf. San Ysidro Drive features saffron, rose and black amber, while 21:50 Rêverie uses vanilla, cedarwood and tonka bean.
Hotel Portofino Goes Deeper
Hotel Portofino is Beckham's debut extrait de parfum and a more concentrated addition to the beauty brand's fragrance range. Created with master perfumer Jérôme Epinette, it opens with bergamot, basil and saffron before moving into wild fig, agarwood and a pinot noir accord, with incense, papyrus and black amber at the base. Victoria Beckham Beauty describes it as a woody, spicy scent centred on intensity and longevity.
The perfume is also deliberately tied to Beckham's own history. 'There are moments in your life that feel tangible forever,' Beckham said in a statement published by Victoria Beckham Beauty about Hotel Portofino. The brand describes the scent as an intensified continuation of Portofino '97, which was inspired by memories of Beckham falling in love with David during their 1997 trip.
Beckham said Hotel Portofino may have more of an evening feel because it is stronger, although she wears it during both the day and night. She also said her fragrances are genderless, connecting that instinct to the balance of masculine and feminine influences in her clothing collections. Rather than designing around a conventional men's or women's fragrance brief, she said the approach reflects her personal taste.
The Beckham Family Has Faced Its Own Divide
Beckham's comments about not being afraid of divided opinions come months after her eldest son, Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, publicly confirmed a major rift with his parents. In a lengthy Instagram statement on 19 January, Brooklyn said he did not want to reconcile with his family and accused Victoria and David Beckham of trying to control the public narrative around them and interfere in his relationship with wife Nicola Peltz Beckham. Victoria did not publicly address his individual allegations at the time.
She later spoke about the family tension in April, saying she and David had always tried to be the best parents they could and that their priority had been to 'protect our children and love our children'. Victoria Beckham did not mention Brooklyn by name, and she has not connected that disagreement to her comments about polarising fragrance. Her latest remarks were focused on creative risk, with Beckham saying she would rather make something interesting than something 'boring and safe'.
