Beckham

While Madonna's Givenchy-happy halftime show was certainly a highlight of yesterday's Super Bowl, we were also pretty hyped to see H&M's $3.5 MM commercial for their Bodywear collection with David Beckham. As we hoped, the ad features Beckham's body in all of its athletic glory, which was a nice reprieve from the actual game and a heck of a lot more interesting than most of the Super Bowl aired that day. See the 30-second (NSFW, unless you make this window really tiny) ad after the jump.

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The City of Lights has seen gloomy weather during Men's Fashion Week, and its patrons have in turn been weary. Stefano Pilati went for power dressing with a twist at Yves Saint Laurent. Leather pants and accents on black suiting was the staple. Similar to Costume National, shoes came with metallic bands. There was a downtown edge to collection; so much leather detailing that it felt a bit like stealthy kink.

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Givenchy

Earlier this week we told you about Riccardo Tisci's first men's pre-fall range for Givenchy, which features graphic tees, animalistic accents, skirts over pants and something annoyingly dubbed “meggings,” which you guessed it, are men's leggings. During their Givenchy Menswear Autumn/Winter 2013  show yesterday in Paris, they sent something similar down the runway, but with an added touch.

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For Riccardo Tisci's first men's pre-fall range for Givenchy, the designer took a cue from his wildly popular fall 2011 menswear collection and incorporated more graphic tees and fierce animalistic accents. While the designer's fall story was an avant-garde mash-up of thuggish formalwear, his interpretation for pre-fall provides everyday streetwear options for fashion-forward men that are comfortable wearing skirts over their pants. So, Kanye West.

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There was so much going on in Paris this weekend that we all but stayed glued to Twitter and Style.com hoping to get a piece of the action. Refresh after refresh, a slew of juicy new fashion week details appeared, making this the most exciting 48 hours we've experienced, albeit vicariously, this season. From Humberto Leon and Carol Lim of Opening Ceremony's Kenzo debut, to the scorching Parisian heat that made every show a sweat fest, to (sigh) Kanye West's disappointing womenswear effort, here are some key moments you may have missed.

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Kanye West is truly going H.A.M. with the fashion collaborations right now. After famously ditching the Grammy's to attend fashion week, not to mention rocking Celine at Coachella, rumor has it he's set to debut his first womenswear collection during NYFW with Louise Goldin. Now he's tapped Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci to design the artwork for the rapper's highly anticipated album with Jay-Z.

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One of our favorite tech-savvy retailers just got even savvier. As of today, Bergdorf Goodman's online boutique now stocks Givenchy RTW—and they're kicking sales off with delectable looks from the Pre-Fall 2011 collection. With moody color-blocking, strong silhouettes, and a new take on animal prints (like this armadillo-kaleidoscope effect), this is Riccardo Tisci's work at its finest.

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For any new model, walking for Givenchy is an early sign of great things to come. Givenchy leans toward models who redefine popular looks. If the face of the moment is a wide-eyed doll, they'll zero in on the girl with puffy lips. Provocative models are cast for both their shows and ads—tapping, for example, the first transsexual model, Lea T., for their Fall 2010 campaign, and later picking albino male model Stephen Thompson to star alongside Daphne Groeneveld, Mariacarla Boscono, and Iris Strubegger in an ad campaign. One used to look to Jil Sander to anoint the future It Face, but now the industry is watching what fresh meat has been chosen to walk for Riccardo Tisci's label. Therefore, judging from this algorithm, the one to watch this season is Anna Piirainen.

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● Yves Saint Laurent launches New Vintage III—a capsule collection comprised of recycled fabric and existing patterns (one look pictured). [T Magazine] ● Gisele Bündchen sports a totally new look in the Balenciaga SS11 campaign. [WWD] ● Design studio LaBoca created four retro-looking posters for Black Swan. [Fashionista]

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Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci has done it again, following up his groundbreaking fall campaign, featuring transsexual model Lea T., by casting albino model Stephen Thompson for the spring. Tisci told WWD he's always admired albino people, saying, "They’re very near my world." Tisci also revealed that the idea for his latest collections—and the campaign—dovetailed from a Robert Mapplethorpe photo of an alabaster Roman bust atop a stretch of leopard-print fabric.

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