Balenciaga campaign scandal: Brand issues apology after furious reaction to ad – latest
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 to Instagram in which it stated 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.
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
Balenciaga takes action against production company
The Spanish fashion label has not only apologised for the ads but has also filed a lawsuit against the production company responsible for a controversial ad campaign in which court documents from a Supreme Court opinion on child pornography were visible.
The suit, which was filed on 25 November in the New York State Supreme Court, accuses production company North Six Inc – and its agent, Nicholas Des Jardins – of engaging in “inexplicable acts and omissions” that were “malevolent or, at the very least, extraordinarily reckless.”
Balenciaga is seeking $25m in monetary damages.
Meredith Clark has the details.
Oliver O’Connell28 November 2022 21:00
Bella Hadid is not alone in distancing herself from Balenciaga in light of the fallout from the controversial ad campaign.
Kim Kardashian has revealed that she is “re-evaluating” her relationship with the luxury fashion house.
“As a mother of four, I have been shaken by the disturbing images,” she said in a social media statement.
Peony Hirwani reports on what else the Skims owner said.
Oliver O’Connell28 November 2022 20:45
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’Connell28 November 2022 20:30
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’Connell28 November 2022 20:15
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 20:04
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