Balenciaga under fire over ‘creepy’ ads of kids with ‘bondage outfits’
Balenciaga has issued a statement “strongly condemning child abuse” while addressing the fallout over its controversial ad campaigns involving children.
On Monday, the fashion house shared a new statement on Instagram in which it said it “would like to address the controversies surrounding our recent ad campaigns”.
Balenciaga has faced widespread backlash over two recent ad campaigns involving children. One of the ads, the designer’s gift collection campaign, featured children posing with the brand’s teddy bear purses, which critics pointed out appear to be wearing BDSM and bondage-inspired accessories.
The second ad under scrutiny is Balenciaga’s Spring 2023 campaign, for its use of a printout of a Supreme Court decision on child pornography.
In the post, the designer brand wrote: “We strongly condemn child abuse; it was never our intent to include it in our narrative.
“The two separate ad campaigns in question reflect a series of grievous errors for which Balenciaga takes responsibility.”
Stay tuned for the latest updates.
Supermodel Bella Hadid deletes Instagram posts
Supermodel Bella Hadid appears to have deleted photos of her wearing clothes from Balenciaga’s spring 2023 campaign from her Instagram amid criticism directed at the fashion brand over two of its recent campaigns.
Oliver O’Connell29 November 2022 01:40
Photographer distances himself from campaign
On Wednesday, National Geographic photographer Gabriele Galimberti addressed the criticism in an Instagram statement, which he said he felt “compelled to make” following the “hundreds of hate mails and messages I received as a result of the photos I took for the Balenciaga campaign”.
Chelsea Ritschel reports on what he said about the controversy.
Oliver O’Connell29 November 2022 00:40
What happened and why is the designer label apologising?
Balenciaga has apologised after backlash over a recent ad campaign, which featured children holding teddy bears dressed in bondage gear and an image of a Supreme Court opinion on a child pornography case.
On Tuesday, the Spanish fashion label issued a statement to its Instagram story. “We sincerely apologise for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused,” the statement read. “Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms.”
Oliver O’Connell28 November 2022 23:40
Julia Fox stands up for women bearing brunt of backlash
On 28 November, the Uncut Gems actor shared her thoughts on the Balenciaga scandal in a TikTok video after fans asked her to weigh in on the photoshoot.
Meredith Clark reports on what she said.
Oliver O’Connell28 November 2022 23:20
Fans call out Nicole Kidman over silence on controversy
Fans of Nicole Kidman are calling on the actor to release a statement regarding her relationship with Balenciaga amid backlash over the brand’s recent ad campaigns featuring children.
Chelsea Ritschel reports.
Oliver O’Connell28 November 2022 23:00
Voices: Kim Kardashian has finally said something we can all agree with
Victoria Richards writes:
It’s not often that I find myself naturally aligned with Kim Kardashian. I mean: we are the same age, and… that’s it. One other similarity: we both have kids. Oh, and neither of us think that children should be used to promote fetish wear.
Oliver O’Connell28 November 2022 22:40
Do the problems go back further?
Balenciaga is by no means the first fashion brand to find itself mired in controversy over a tasteless ad campaign, but journalist Lorraine King believes this is not their first offence.
She tweeted: “I wish they had been cancelled when they started trolling working class people. I’m glad they finally are now. Terrible company.”
The accompanying tweet included images of Balenciaga products based on shopping bags and safety gear.
Other examples from the luxury fashion house include a handbag modelled on a bag of potato chips:
And the “most expensive trash bag in the world”.
Oliver O’Connell28 November 2022 22:20
Everything we know about the scandal so far
Meredith Clark unwraps everything we know so far about the controversial ad campaigns and the subsequent fallout.
Oliver O’Connell28 November 2022 22:00
Who else is giving up the brand?
Journalist and author Omid Scobie tweeted on Sunday night that he had given away all of the Balenciaga clothes he owns.
“Got rid of all my Balenciaga this weekend. I loved that brand but no apology can ever be enough for what they let happen. Cancelled for good,” he tweeted.
The Finding Freedom author later clarified when asked how he had disposed of the clothes: “Charity shop. It would be a waste to trash or destroy items of value that someone else may want (or want to buy and resell). Plus that’s what I’ve always done with unwanted clothes (unless it’s a major piece — then I’ll use Vestiaire).
Oliver O’Connell28 November 2022 21:40
Second apology admits fault and negligence
On Monday, Balenciaga issued a second apology going into further detail about the two ad campaigns and attempting to explain where mistakes were made:
The Independent’s Chelsea Ritschel has the details:
Oliver O’Connell28 November 2022 21:20
Kaynak: briturkish.com
