Brand Beckham is out of control – and it’s everything Brooklyn warned us about

Romeo Beckham, 23, is following in his mum Victoria’s footsteps with the launch of his own fashion brand, Intra, selling sportswear with a retro style – and the Beckham family, fresh off their yacht in Ibiza, have posed en masse in the label’s football jackets, influenced by England, Brazil and America, as if they are starring in a cheesy high street fashion catalogue.

The photo, which has since been posted to Victoria and Romeo’s Instagram with over 200k likes, sees Victoria, 52, David, 51, Cruz, 21, Romeo and their respective girlfriends, Jackie Apostel, 30, and Kim Turnball, 24, standing on a staircase and wearing Romeo’s new England-style bomber jackets. Except of course for Victoria, who opted instead to wear a white sleeveless top and black trousers, likely from her own label, with Romeo behind her wearing a white vest top, presumably so his mother doesn’t look like the odd one out.

“So excited for you”, Victoria gushed on her Instagram yesterday about Romeo’s first “independent” business venture. This comes a few weeks on from the news that Victoria’s 14-year-old daughter is launching her own beauty business. And that news came after the youngest son of David and Victoria prepared for a July tour with his three-piece band, The Breakers.

Such a talented young bunch, you might think. Or, alternatively, you might think that’s where having connected parents gets to you. Brand Beckham is now out of control – and this performative nepotism is everything Brooklyn warned us about.

While most kids their age are struggling in the biggest youth job crisis of a generation, the Beckham brood is hardly living off a wing and a prayer, seeing where their side hustles will take them. This is a well-oiled machine where brand Beckham pulls into action at the sniff of an opportunity to launch.

As England gets ready for the World Cup, the timing for a new sportswear fashion brand blessed by King David couldn’t be better. Officially available later this week with sports apparel that looks like it has come directly out of David’s Manchester Utd football bag back in his heyday, the sound of opportunity knocking is deafening.

Romeo and his girlfriend, Kim, already held the soft launch of his new fashion label last week, with a low-key event on a Soho street next to a van displaying the brand’s logo and details. Other photos show Romeo hugging his parents from behind with his fashion logo “Intra” sprawled across the back of his football jacket and another of David and Cruz, with David seemingly having casually tied his Intra jacket across his torso by the sleeves. The insouciance of this shot is fooling no one.

Thanks to Brooklyn’s takedown of his parents in January, we now know all is never as it seems with these posts. We can see between the cracks in the brand’s image of a picture-perfect family their eldest son – currently nowhere to be seen – Brooklyn publicly accused his parents of prioritising the “brand” over family relationships. Spilling all the tea, he said: “My family values public promotion and endorsements above all else… Brand Beckham comes first. Family ‘love’ is decided by how much you post on social media, or how quickly you drop everything to show up and pose for a family photo op even if it’s at the expense of our professional obligations.”

What’s changed? The Beckhams’ latest family photo op is just more indication that they haven’t listened to a word of what Brooklyn said, and show no signs of starting to any time soon. “The performative social media posts, family events and inauthentic relationships have been a fixture of the life I was born into,” he railed, but rather than slow down and reflect on why the family’s modus operandi might not be working emotionally, Brand Beckham has been ramped up to overkill proportions.

And it’s working for the bank account, even if there is a cost to the family. David and Victoria Beckham have now officially entered the billionaire ranks, with a combined estimated net worth of £1.18bn, according to the Sunday Times Rich List last month, doubling their wealth in the last 12 months and making David the first billionaire sportsman in the UK.

Harper, who is currently studying for her GCSEs, is reportedly launching her Gen Z/Alpha-focused skincare and beauty brand named HIKU by Harper this summer, inspired by South Korean cosmetics. But Victoria, who has faced criticism recently after involving Harper in the promotion of her Gap collection in April and raising eyebrows for taking Harper to promotional events in New York, when a better idea may have been focusing on her studies. In response to the criticisms, she has since told The Sunday Times Style podcast that her “very passionate” daughter is “at school and working really, really hard, but we will see what happens”.

Meanwhile, Cruz may have transformed into a pop star, sporting vintage Yves Saint Laurent, fronting his band Cruz Beckham and The Breakers, and gearing up for a summer tour that includes coveted slots at Reading and Leeds. But listen closely to the lyrics, and a different story is being told.

His songs include “Loneliest Boy”, thought to address the highly publicised rift between Brooklyn and the rest of the Beckham family, with the lyrics “Loneliest boy, mama don’t talk too much / It’s breaking her heart”.

Clearly none of the Beckham children would be able to launch a sports gear clothing brand, a skincare brand, a pop career, or even a line of hot sauces, as was the case with aspiring chef Brooklyn, without having famous parents. But these mini-me spin-offs also ensure that those parents are going nowhere and their future investments – their children – will deliver a good return.

It is just another chapter in the story of Brand Beckham, where image and perception have long been integral to the family’s success. This latest appearance, presenting a united front in coordinated sportswear, is no exception.

Whether it is intended as a display of solidarity after Brooklyn’s cutting public criticism or as an effort to maintain the cultural relevance for a younger generation, there is a risk that the brood’s brand becomes the family’s Frankstein monster if they are not careful.

The Beckham name undoubtedly provides a powerful platform, but while the privilege of a famous name might be enough to launch careers at the beginning, living off your parents’ coattails and presenting as a butter-wouldn’t-melt Brady Bunch starts to become a bit embarrassing after a while.

Brooklyn found out the hard way, and the family’s response since feels unforgiving. If there were more time spent on healing rather than posting and pushing, maybe the Beckhams would find a way of being seen as a family again instead of a brand.