Victoria Beckham brings her new line of sunglasses to China, and tells Gan Tian they are a good fit for all occasions.

What do we talk about when we talk about Victoria Beckham? High heels, expensive Hermes Birkin bags, and of course, sunglasses. Every time she appears in public, she will always wear giant and chic sunglasses. Now, she is not only a fan of different sunglasses, but she wants to become a creator and a trendsetter of eyewear. Turning up at the Puyi Optical store in Beijing's luxury magnet Shin Kong Place, the former Spice Girl introduces the eyewear line she designed herself to Chinese fashionistas.

Her design concept is that a good pair of sunglasses should go well with your skin tone and clothing, both casual and formal dress.

"I have these aviators and I wear everything with them. They look good on casual dress, and also good when I'm dressed up. That is very important for sunglasses," she says in an exclusive interview with China Daily.

That's how Beckham has brought "flexibility" to the question of wearing sunglasses. Most Chinese people don't think sunglasses are suitable with formal dress, especially at work. The celebrated designer is trying to introduce this idea to this market.

Beckham's eyewear designs are never exaggerated. Normal in size, they have a contemporary twist on classic shapes. The designer also pays much more attention to the quality. All the products are handmade in Italy, with the finest materials. A pair of aviator-style mirrored metal sunglasses even has some rose-gold metallic details.

"I read all about glasses, and it's always about the fashion story. But I like everything to be timeless, sophisticated, chic and flattering. All my glasses are very subtle and handmade in Italy," she says.

China Vogue's editorial director Angelica Cheung says Beckham's products are both functional and chic, especially for female office workers. There is a pair of aviators in her collection, with small holes in the giant lenses, immediately giving a touch of modern chic.

The diva became a fashion designer after her singing career. She wowed the fashion world with her debut in 2008 New York Fashion Week. The most important accessories from her collection are sunglasses and optical glasses.

Beckham says, "I had thought of sunglasses, and also handbags. Both of them are doing quite well in the market. It's what I wear every day and what I want. I don't wear a huge amount of jewelry, so I design sunglasses." She started working with Puyi Optical in China in 2009 and says the retailer is one of the best in the world.

Her other designs now sell at Joyce and Lane Crawford stores in China.

"My clothes are selling well here. Women here really understand fashion. They are beautiful, they appreciate fashion and they love fashion as I do," she says.

Her designs on clothes are all about the slim silhouette. There are razor-sharp dresses with corsets, jackets and short skirts in a sporty style. Beckham is also very bold in using colors: purple, pink and bright yellow, which bring out the beauty of a woman.

This is the second time that Beckham has visited Beijing. Last year, she did a small show at Joyce in the World Trade Center Tower 3, and this time, she gave a speech in Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, and she visited Lane Crawford and Joyce.

"What I love to do is some in-store events around the whole world, and getting along with customers. I tried to dress up my customers, and get feedback from them. Each season, I read Tweets from my customers, to see what they really want and I have feedback from my Asian market, saying there should be some adjustments as well.

"Fashion is always my passion. That's what I wanted to do. I do what I do because I love women. I want to empower women. I want them to feel good about themselves, to be confident," she says.

When asked about her view of the Chinese market, Beckham quite honestly says, "I don't know enough about the market in China."

But she adds, "I know it's a very important market. David is now ambassador of Chinese soccer, and as a family, China is very important for us and we come back a lot."

Contact the writer at gantian@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily USA 08/19/2013 page10)