Hugo Boss inks major David Beckham design deal for Boss label

Hugo Boss had big news on Thursday with the German fashion giant striking up a design deal with one of fashion’s favourite (and enduring) celebrities, David Beckham.

The multi-year deal with the ex-Manchester United star player is for its Boss brand and means both Beckham and his wife Victoria have now switched careers to enter the world of fashion design.

So what will we see being launched under the agreement? Beckham — who’s already been signed up as a Boss campaign star for AW24 — will both design and curate formal and casual menswear collections, with the first fruits of the collaboration being seen for SS25.

We’re told that “this partnership will evolve the Boss Menswear collections over many years to come. In terms of its scope, the collaboration is the first of its kind for Boss Menswear and will deliver innovative and captivating designs that reflect the style and aesthetic values of David Beckham and Boss, appealing to a wide global audience”.

Beckham himself said: “Over the last few years, I’ve been wanting to invest more time in design and fashion, but wanted to ensure I collaborated with a brand and team that could deliver something truly global and impactful. I’ve really enjoyed the collaboration with Boss so far and have been impressed by the team’s ambition, creativity, and desire for excellence. I look forward to sharing what we’ve been working on so far, including the Fall/Winter 2024 campaign as the first step in our long-term partnership.”

It’s a canny move on Hugo Boss’s part with Beckham regularly cited as a major menswear influencer and being known for wearing both tailoring and more casual pieces. 

Hugo Boss CEO Daniel Grieder said he’s a “true global icon in both sports and fashion. With his distinctive entrepreneurial spirit and authentic passion for fashion, he perfectly embodies the values of our Boss brand”.

And that entrepreneurial element is key too. Since retiring from football, Beckham has leveraged his fame to launch a number of successful businesses and endorsement deals.

His business is also closely linked to super-successful brand owner Authentic Brands Group. The American firm struck a deal just over two years ago to co-own and manage his global brand with Beckham becoming a shareholder of the group. Authentic “connects strong brands with best-in-class partners to optimise long-term value in the marketplace” and that activity is clearly on show here.

Meanwhile Hugo Boss has been reinventing its two key labels — Hugo and Boss — in recent periods and the move appears to have been largely paying off. Celebrities have been a key part of this both for campaigns and for design deals. Earlier this year it announced that Naomi Campbell was launching a new travel-focused womenswear collection in a link-up with Boss.