Is Princess Diana Victoria Beckham's new style muse?

Is Princess Diana Victoria Beckham???s new fashion muse?Admittedly, this is a question I never thought I???d ask, but then again, who could blame Beckham if she has been taking sartorial notes- conscious or otherwise- from one of the twentieth century???s greatest style icons.

In the past few months, there has been a renewed focus on Diana thanks to the 20th anniversary of her death and the new exhibition about her style- Diana:Her Fashion Story- which opened at her former Kensington Palace home in February.Judging by some of the looks which Beckham has worn in New York while she???s been there for work over the past couple of weeks and a detail or two in her latest collection, it seems that even she was not immune from the influence of a foray into the Princess???s style archive.

Clearly, VB has not abandoned all her modern minimalist principles in favour of colour-pop 80s skirt suits and taffeta gowns but she has undeniably been peppering some key Diana pieces into her repertoire.Let???s examine the evidence???

As she spent the week in NY preparing for her SS18 show, Beckham adopted a simple and easy uniform consisting of high-waisted, dark indigo jeans and a white t-shirt.In itself, that???s a classic 90s Diana ensemble, but the designer made the reference unequivocal when she added a chic lilac blazer to her utilitarian outfit for a post-show dinner with her family.

It was date night with David on Monday so Victoria plucked one of the most romantic new pieces from her latest collection for the occasion- a pie-crust collar blouse.Breezy riffs on the ultimate 80s top were also a standout piece at Sunday???s show where they were worn untucked with relaxed flares and slouchy trouser suits.The similarity was unmistakable, even if Diana wore hers more regally, primly tucked into ladylike skirts.

Princess Diana was a stickler for the matchy-matchy look, so often her outfits for public engagements would be accessorised with a brightpair of heels, sometimes with added sparkle.The lilac, cornflower blue and mint green heels which appeared on sunday???s catwalk- and which VB has been wearing herself- wouldn???t have looked out of place in Diana???s own formal wardrobe, while the glittery heels in the collection would have been ideal for state banquets and film premieres.

Perhaps one of the best known images of the late Princess is the picture taken when she was working as a nursery school teacher before her marriage, with the sun shining through her delicate summer skirt giving it a translucent look.Earlier in september, Beckham gave the look a power dressing spin by teaming a similarly diaphanous style with a matching blouse and heels.

They do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.