Balenciaga under fire over 'creepy' ads of kids with 'bondage outfits'
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The backlash surrounding Balenciaga’s recent ad campaigns involving children has remained strong as fans and celebrities continue to denounce the luxury brand.
The Spanish fashion house recently found itself embroiled in controversy over two recent ad campaigns. The first campaign, the designer’s gift collection campaign, was criticised for using children to model its teddy bear purses, after critics pointed out the bears appeared to be wearing BDSM and bondage-inspired accessories.
The second ad under scrutiny is Balenciaga’s Spring 2023 campaign, which featured a printout of a Supreme Court decision on child pornography and a book about Beligan artist Michaël Borremans, whose earlier work included depictions of castrated children.
In an attempt to address the fallout, Balenciaga has issued two statements regarding the since-removed campaigns. In the most recent, released on Monday, the brand said it “strongly condemned” child abuse while alleging it was never its intent to “include it in our narrative”.
Balenciaga also filed a lawsuit against the production company behind the Spring 2023 shoot.
The statements and legal complaint have done little to quell the intense reactions from the public over the ads, with many calling for a boycott of the luxury brand, while celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Nicole Kidman have been called on to cut ties with Balenciaga.
Kardashian, a longtime ambassador of the brand, ultimately announced in a statement shared to social media that she would be “re-evaluating” her relationship with Balenciaga moving forward, while her sister Kylie Jenner appeared to distance herself from the brand when she dismissed speculation that she and her famous family were “covering up” for Balenciaga with “calculated” social media posts.
For all the latest updates regarding the ongoing Balenciaga scandal, follow along below.
Although Kim Kardashian has expressed her disapproval of the campaigns and addressed her ongoing relationship with Balenciaga, fans have continued to call on her to cut ties with the brand.
The pressure increased after Kardashian shared a series of random photos of her home to Instagram this week, with fans alledging the post was an attempt to draw attention away from the Balenciaga scandal, and her role as an ambassador for the brand.
While Business of Fashion will no longer honour Demna with the award, it noted in its statement that it has asked the “leadership at Balenciaga” to attend Voices to “take responsibility for releasing these images and offer an explanation”.
According to the fashion agency, Balenciaga declined the invitation. “They declined our invitation to speak at this time, but BoF remains open to having this important conversation,” the statement added.
Amid the ongoing fallout over Balenciaga’s recent campaigns, the Business of Fashion announced it will no longer be honouring the brand’s creative director Demna with its Global Voices award for 2022.
The fashion authority announced that Demna would be the recipient of the award earlier this year, however, it said in a 28 November statement that the honour had been revoked in light of Balenciaga’s controversial campaigns.
“Since its inception BoF VOICES has been a platform for important, honest and sometimes uncomfortable conversations that have helped to address key issues in the fashion industry head on,” the statement read. “At BoF, we hold the safety of children in the highest regard.
“And, like many, we have been seeking the truth about how children appeared with BDSM-inspired products in Balenciaga’s recent campaign imaages, which are wholly inconsistent with our values.
“As a result, we will not be presenting Demna with the Global Voices award this year.”
Kylie Jenner dismisses speculation she shared children’s photos to ‘cover up’ for Balenciaga
Kylie Jenner has hit back at accusations that she posted photos of her children to distract people from the Balenciaga conrtroversy.
The reality star shared rare pictures of her children, Stormi and her son whose name is unconfirmed, this week. But some social media users questioned her intentions amid the ongoing scandal and her sister Kim Kardashian’s close links to the luxury brand.
FInd out what she said below:
The reality star posted a rare picture of her baby son
Demna Gvasalia said he ‘no longer’ has to think about ‘making the industry understand what I do'
Balenciaga’s creative director Demna Gvasalia said that the luxury brand is so popular that he does not feel the need to “make the industry understand what I do” in a podcast that was released several weeks before the current controversy.
In the episode, released on 20 October, Demna said: “I no longer think about making the fashion industry understand what I do. I just do it. Whetehr I’m proud of it or not, it doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t have anybody to convince or explain things to. The only people I need to have a conversation with are the people who wear what I do and who understand what I do. And who appreciate it.”
He continued: “Since I started couture at Balenciaga, finally I found a position in this industry which is uncontested. I can just chill out and do what I truly believe in without thinking about business or media or commands about what other people think. All of that just evaporated.”
Street artist leaves graffiti on Balenciaga’s Bond Street store
A street artist has claimed he was responsible for graffiti left on the front of Balenciaga’s store on Bond Street.
Joe Bloggs, known by his artist name as The Average Man on the Street, told Newsweek he placed a vinyl sticker with the words “paedophilia” repeated twice on the glass display window of the store.
He was filmed by a TikTok user carrying out the defacement in a video captioned: “POV: you’re walking through central London enjoying the lights and see Balenciaga getting canceled.”
Bloggs told the publication he vandalised the store “due to the abhorrent photoshoots Balenciaga did”.
The Independent has contacted Balenciaga for comment.
Kanye West also made his opinion regarding the brand clear on Sunday, when he covered a designer logo on his rain boots with a sticker that read: “YE24.”
The rapper’s latest statement comes after he called out celebrities for remaining silent in the wake of the scandal.
West’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian said this week that she’s ‘re-evaluating’ her relationship with brand
Amid the ongoing backlash, many former customers have begun destroying their Balenciaga possessions.
One woman filmed herself cutting up a Balenciaga hoodie that retails for approximately $720.
Chloe Hennessey, 27, filmed herself cutting up a Balenciaga hoodie that retails for approximately £600 along with sunglasses, trainers and a T-shirt
Donald Trump Jr is the latest figure to weigh in on the scandal, with the son of the former president alleging that there is “more outrage” over Elon Musk’s handling of Twitter than Balenciaga.
Fashion thrives on backlash
As Balenciaga becomes the latest luxury label to become embroiled in controversy, Olivia Petter asks if big brands will ever learn from the errors of their ways.
Read about why the latest “child abuse” scandal won’t change the fact that the fashion industry thrives on backlash:
As Balenciaga becomes the latest luxury label to become embroiled in controversy, Olivia Petter asks if big brands will ever learn from the errors of their ways