Many scoffed at Posh Spice moving into fashion design but Victoria Beckham is winning critics round with a run of impressive collections

A LOT of people in the fashion world didn't want Victoria Beckham to succeed when she first launched her high-end line of dresses in 2008. She was dismissed as a trumped-up footballer's wife who had mistaken a budget that allowed her access to the most expensive clothes in the world with the ability to design them.

If there was a fashionista left who doubted Beckham's abilities, they were surely silenced for good when she showed her autumn/winter 2010 collection at New York Fashion Week on Sunday. Her fourth collection of elegant (and eye-wateringly expensive) dresses, the pieces received rave reviews from everyone who mattered.

Beckham showed the collection to just 30 of fashion's movers and shakers – including Vogue's Grace Coddington, Vanity Fair's Michael Roberts and Virginie Mouzat of Le Figaro – and talked them through her inspirations (including Dick Tracy, comic books and the contemporary dance pioneer, Martha Graham) personally.

After the show Vogue described the collection as "very beautiful," saying: "A softened shoulder and frayed edges on some of the dresses played up the rough-refined juxtaposition Beckham was hoping to achieve." Influential trade publication Women's Wear Daily began their review with the words "Note to self: Make this the last lead that notes Victoria Beckham's seriousness about this fashion thing" and described the pieces as "genuinely beautiful".

One newspaper said that Beckham had "proved that the phenomenal success her own label has enjoyed so far is neither fluke nor whim, and that she is in the fashion business for the long game." Not that she needs reviews to cement her success – her designs invariably sell out and the ultra-impressive range of retailers who stock her designs include Harvey Nichols, Italy's Corso Como and Neiman Marcus in the United States.

Victoria Beckham is her own muse, and as such, the pieces she showed could easily be worn by their creator (indeed Beckham cited one draped nude dress as the one she will be wearing to the Oscars). Slightly less structured than usual, they were nevertheless designed to flatter, with subtle draping and fluid, slinky jersey over figure-hugging corsetry. A few Beckham signatures were there, including exposed nape-to-knee zips and grosgrain belts.

"I have to say, quite reluctantly, that this is a highly wearable, accomplished collection," says Mary McGowne, the organiser of the Scottish Style Awards. "There are some clever touches like the built-in corsetry that have seen her secure fans across the size spectrum and expand the appeal. There's no disputing that she had a head start by enlisting her A-List friends for the kind of exceptional product placement that most fashion PRs can only dream of, but four seasons in it looks to be going from strength to strength. And it's a timely reveal ahead of the Oscars – the Beckham style juggernaut is certain to sweep this year's red carpet."

Beckham herself was, as always, pretty nervous before presenting the collection, describing herself as her "own competition" but acknowledging that: "I'm still learning and I still feel I need to prove myself; all my life I've had to prove myself. Each season, I have to better myself. I really want to grow as a designer."

• Victoria Beckham's fall/winter 2010 collection has earned, sometimes grudging, praise from the fashion world

She has, after all, struggled for acceptance in the fashion world. "Mummy's doing a big test" was the way she explained her nerves to her three sons. She described later how she felt that she's always had to work hard at proving herself to her critics. She was, even in her Spice Girls days, never the best singer or dancer. She's pretty, but not a knockout. And she has no formal fashion training but has always had a strong passion for style.

The fashion world is notoriously icy however, and understandably hostile to those who think that a "passion for fashion" and a platinum credit card count as experience enough to knock together a collection. Her fourth collection, however, was as accomplished as the previous three, and commercially very savvy.

You see, Victoria Beckham has never let fashion get in the way of her looking attractive, which is perhaps one of the reasons she's struggled for acceptance. The fashion world can be a little snobby about women who pick and choose pieces based on whether or not their bum will look big in them. However, Beckham recognises that not all, but most women with an interest in fashion want to look good. They want to look slim and sexy, pretty, glamorous and elegant. They want to show off their best angles and conceal their imperf-ections. And that's exactly what her dresses do. They are nipped in at the wearer's narrowest point, and beneath their simple exteriors lie extensive scaffolding to cinch and smooth, lift and separate. They are designed not as pieces of art, but as clothing to flatter the female form and to adhere to society's definition of the "perfect" female body, even if you don't happen to be in possession of one.

"Victoria Beckham's designs are pretty classic, which I think is one of the keys to her success," says fashion stylist Lindsey Campbell. "I think that if she went for anything particularly avant-garde she'd be laughed off the catwalk. It's also fairly obvious that she's had a lot of help, but she's certainly true to her own style and sticks to what she knows. Her pieces are very feminine and elegant, with a hint of vintage glamour. She wants to make women look good, which is obviously popular with her customers and with celebrities." Tellingly, celebrities have donned Beckham's designs in their droves. After all, they'd rather look sculpted and glamorous on the red carpet than take any fashion risks. And so women of – rather surprisingly – varying shapes and sizes have worn Victoria Beckham to high-profile events. A-list fans include Madonna, Jennifer Hudson, Elle Macpherson and Courteney Cox, who wore a black strapless Victoria Beckham dress to the Golden Globes and gushed about how much she loved it.

Fashion insiders are already estimating that the Victoria Beckham dress, denim and sunglasses business will be worth 4.7m in sales this year, and there's talk of her opening a stand-alone store in five years.

Gradually the tone of reviews of her collection is moving away from the idea that her work is surprisingly impressive for a former Spice Girl. More and more, there's an acknowledgement that it's just impressive, period.