First up is a video of Lanvin’s Fall 2011 campaign, starring Raquel Zimmerman and Karen Elson. While we’re sure that the print ads will be in a September fashion magazine issue near you, we never would have imagined Pitbull providing the soundtrack – or Alber Elbaz popping in for an adorably off beat cameo.

Next up is a video for the Westfield Stratford City mall, which will open in East London on September 13th. The Viral Factory condensed 100 years of London fashion into 100 seconds. We imagine that between the perfectly coordinated soundtrack, dance steps and outfit changes, it actually took quite a bit more time to pull the video together.

Finally, while it’s not completely fashion related, Taiwanese animators NMA already have ideas about the style of little Bey-Z (Beyonce and Jay-Z’s future child). Video Jay-Z looks more like Reggie Bush, but that small detail aside, in less than 2 minutes we get a peek at Nicki Minaj as the nanny, Kanye West declaring Beyonce’s holy pregnancy the greatest of all time, and a little guy who can not only smoke cigars with dad, but put on a leotard while mom sings about putting a ring on it as well. In a few years, this will all come full circle and we’ll keep an eye out for the little guy or gal breaking out the synchronized moves for Lanvin’s 2031 campaign.

Beyonce has managed the biggest fashion surprise of the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, but not for any outrageous costume.

The nearly 30-year-old singer debuted the first (beautiful, bright, Lanvin) maternity dress of the evening, and all but confirmed her pregnancy by conspicuously displaying her baby bump and asking the audience to feel “the love growing inside” her when taking the stage.

In spite of years of rumors suggesting that they were expecting, this will be the first child for both Beyonce and husband Jay-Z.

And, may we add, the start of one seriously stylish pregnancy wardrobe. Congratulations!

{via Styleite}

GQ reports that Jay-Z’s Rocawear clothing label is the proud new owner of the licensing to manufacture and distribute Pharrell Williams’ Billionaire Boys Club clothing line, but Jay-Z says don’t call it a takeover.

[blackbirdpie url=”http://twitter.com/S_C_/status/98817200789536768″]

Buying the rights to manufacture and sell a clothing line sounds like buying the label to us, but since details of the deal were vague, it’s possible that Williams still has a significant role in the label creatively, or even from a business perspective, and that Rocawear is simply providing extra financial backing.

There are a lot of details that could make a difference, but for both parties it seems like a win/win. We haven’t heard about Billionaire Boys Club struggling, but Jay-Z’s been able to successfully maintain the Rocawear streetwear label for some time, and that’s no small feat. As tough as it might be to keep pace with changing musical tastes and dominate the charts, it’s equally challenging for a streetwear label to keep its cool for an extended period of time.

In 2007, Iconix Brand Group acquired the rights to the label, netting Jay-Z $204 million. Under the terms of the deal, Jay-Z maintained his stake in the label and continued to oversee marketing, licensing and product development. In other words, he also has a pretty successful track record with fashion label acquisitions that keep the celebrity founders in place, in a significant role.

More of a partnership than a buyout, if you will.

Leaked Unedited Video for Monster by Kanye West featuring Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj and Bon Iver

The unfinished video, which was removed shortly after being leaked on YouTube (wow, those take down notices move fast!), opens with Rick Ross sitting in a room with women hanging from the ceiling, then moves to West flashing his newly installed diamond covered teeth (just saying, the morning breath one would get from diamond covered teeth is probably a monster on its own) while being grabbed at by lots of red-nailed women. It then shifts to two dead women in bed, with West positioning them to put their arms around each other. One lady may have a future as a Law & Order extra, but another blinks, giving a sign of life that will probably be edited out in the final version. Jay-Z raps in front of a woman sprawled naked and (presumably) dead on a couch, and in the next scene the camera pans down to reveal Kanye West holding a woman’s severed head. In between there are zombie schoolgirls jumping rope, two women eating a dead waiter (one of the rare times in the video women are shown as the monsters) and hands struggling to break through doors, but the most interesting scene is the one where Nicki Minaj tortures herself. With a pink wigged Barbie version of herself tied up, dominatrix Nicki looms with a riding crop while her alter ego quips back.

Screencaps from the video below, if mirror upload is removed.

The final version will likely have sharper colors, additional effects and improved transitions, but somehow it feels like we’ve seen a lot of this before. If Eli Roth directed a “video editorial” for an America’s Next Top Model challenge, we’re guessing this would be the Tyra-unapproved result. There are certain elements that will cause controversy and provide shock value, but possibly because of the length (or lack thereof) they all feel gratuitous rather than creepy. Rihanna’s “Disturbia” pulled it off pretty well, Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” video also, but “Monster” seems content to repeat the white contact covered eyes for zombie extras with added doses of misogynistic imagery and call it new. Controversial imagery aside – and it will certainly generate controversy – the greatest offense is how uninspired everything seems.

Love the song, but when it comes to the video we’ll look away.

So it’s incredibly refreshing to hear that rap mogul and super-celeb Jay-Z is one of those few gentlemen in the spotlight who has nothing but respect for the leading lady in his life.

Jay-Z attended the Victoria’s Secret fashion show and after-party in New York City this past week and, whereas countless other men would kill their own mothers for a chance to rub shoulders with beautiful VS models, Jay-Z deliberately declined any contact with the women out of respect for his wife Beyoncé.

Style is more than just clothing and color palettes, and we’re glad to see that chivalry is still very much alive and well.

Read the full story {Showbiz Spy}