Brand it like Beckham!
Sure, he may have a baby girl on the way, but that doesn't seem to stop this father of three sons' entrepreneurial gears from turning: David Beckham, alongside business partner Simon Fuller (who's behind the American Idol franchise), is planning to launch a bodywear line and a new men's fragrance this year, Women's Wear Daily reports.
The much-anticipated line of underwear will be Beckham's first branch into branded apparel. The 36-year-old soccer star has been the face and body of Emporio Armani underwear for the past four seasons, an experience to which he considers a catalyst to wanting to start his own.
"I have had the idea of doing a bodywear collection for some time now," Beckham tells WWD. "[Emporio Armani] told me that their gross turnover in 2007 was around 16 million euros [$22.7 million at current exchange] and after the campaign in 2008 it went up to 31 million euros [$43.9 million] in 2008. It proved to me that there is a real market for good-looking, well-made men's bodywear."
The new fragrance, to be called Homme by David Beckham, will be his third with license partner Coty Inc.: he launched David Beckham Instinct in 2005 and Intimately Beckham (a his-and-hers duo) in 2006, alongside wife Victoria Beckham.
Speaking of his famous fashion-icon wife, who's pregnant with the couple's fourth child, Victoria, 37, already designs her own line of womenswear. So is the L.A. Galaxy midfielder looking to up their power-couple status by becoming his own brand?
Beckham tells WWD, "It's not my natural inclination to see myself as a brand, I'm just a person who has been fortunate to explore other interests and passions outside of the game I love. I will always be associated with my sport but I am now working across other areas that will continue long after my career has finished."
On-or-off the soccer field, it's no secret that the athlete's world-famous figure is eye-catching.
"I can't wait to show people the collection," he says, "although I'm not sure my mum will be too happy seeing a billboard image of me in underwear again."
