Victoria Beckham Was ‘Brave’ To Go Into Fashion, Says Top Designer Jonathan Saunders - EXCLUSIVE

She was famously criticised by Dolce and Gabbana for being ‘more high-street than high-end.’

But Scottish fashion designer Jonathan Saunders has jumped to the defence of Victoria Beckham – the former Spice Girl turned New York Fashion Week designer.

Speaking to us at the launch of his new design collaboration with Thomson, the 36-year-old told us he thought she was ‘brave’ to enter the fashion industry considering her pop star background.

“I think she’s a brilliant woman who knows exactly what she wants and she’s very brave coming from the background that she’s been in prior to fashion,” he tells us.

“Entering an industry that people might think is pretentious and elitist and all of those things, she knows what she wants 100 per cent.”

And silencing the critics – including D&G – that say she’s not a ‘real’ designer, he says the figures speak for themselves.

“She knows what women want as well and you can see that from the sales figures as a business,” he says.

“I think it’s a tasteful, desirable and fantastic line that she’s created and it’s not even a question whether she should have a fashion line or not. I think she’s great.”

You tell ‘em!

As for Jonathan, his career has taken him from a textiles degree in Glasgow, to a fashion collection on the London Fashion Week runway – which he then moved to New York in 2008.

But the Scot returned to the capital in 2010 – telling us he got homesick being away from London for two years.

“I think I missed it. It’s just local – it takes you ten minutes to get to the venue rather than a plane,” he says.

The Glasgow-born fashion designer – who counts Kate Middleton, Victoria Beckham and Samantha Cameron as fans – has just started working on a collaboration with Thomson Holidays, having worked with retailers Topshop and Target in the past.

He already has a fashion line with high-street retailer Debenhams, labeled Jonathan Saunders/EDITION, so what is it that makes him take on this extra workload – rather than just focusing on his main line?

“Any collaboration is an interesting way of learning new skills,” he says.

“From the beginning, I’ve always done other projects. Everything that you do, you learn different things.

“If you just do it for the money, it’s futile. You need to firstly learn something as a designer, grow as a business and add another string to your bow.”

But he’s not just going to put his name to any old collab. Jonathan is passionate about working with brands that share a similar to him.

“As long as there’s a camaraderie or doing something special, then it doesn’t matter what the price point is, what the area within what you’re doing is, it’s more about the ethos of it, similar ideas,” he says.

It sounds like he’s a very busy man! Not content with everything he’s got going on at the moment, he’s also got a rug collection coming out soon.

“We’ve got a wonderful collaboration with the Rug Company coming up soon which I’m really excited about,” he says.

“It’s the other end of the scale – hand-crafted, 10,000+ rugs, made in the deepest depth.

“Anything that adds another element to what you’re doing. I get bored very easily so I like doing other projects.”

As for those rumours about him ‘consulting’ for Paul Smith, he firmly quashed them in our interview.

“They’re all rumours,” he says.

To be fair, it sounds like he has enough on his plate as it is…

Jonathan Saunders, has created a limited edition range of beachwear and bags for men and women to celebrate the opening of the Thomson Sensatori Resort Jamaica.

He has also designed and accessorised the stunning Amber Pool area at the new 5* resort. For more information about Sensatori Resort Jamaica, see thomson.co.uk.

[Victoria Beckham's a 'high street designer' says D&G's Gabbana]

[Kate Middleton: 'Not Just A Pretty Face' – Jonathan Saunders]