Balenciaga is a luxury fashion house founded by Spanish designer Cristobal Balenciaga in 1919. The brand is known for its innovative and high-quality clothing, footwear, and accessories, and has a strong reputation in the fashion industry.
Balenciaga has a number of flagship stores around the world and its products are also available at various department stores and boutiques. The company is currently owned by the French multinational corporation Kering.
Balenciaga Scandal Explained
The most recent update was a written statement from creative director Demna that was posted to his Instagram account on December 2 in response to the contentious advertising. “I accept full responsibility for the incorrect aesthetic concept I chose for the gifting campaign with the kids, and I want to personally apologize,” he added.
“Having children advocate for things that had nothing to do with them was inappropriate.” Although he makes an effort to produce thought-provoking work, he continued, “To achieve that with such a terrible subject as child abuse was never my objective.”
The fashion designer acknowledged that he must “learn from this” and praised Balenciaga’s resolve to take action “not only to avoid such mistakes in the future, but also to take accountability in preserving child welfare in any manner we can.”
On December 2,
On December 2, Balenciaga announced on Instagram that it was withdrawing its $25 million lawsuit. According to Vogue, the decision to abandon legal action follows strong industry support for North Six and Des Jardins.
Balenciaga’s apologies was underlined in the statement, which also stated that “We wish to learn, support, and contribute to protect children.”
Balenciaga issued a second statement on Instagram on November 28 in which it fully accepted responsibility for the Christmas campaign and provided information regarding the case related to the spring 2023 campaign.
The statement added, “All of the objects used in this shooting were supplied by third parties who affirmed in writing that these props were phony office documents. It continued, “They turned out to be actual legal paperwork.” “
Balenciaga has complained about the careless incompetence that led to the inclusion of these prohibited documents. In its final statement, the brand listed an internal action plan that included “setting the groundwork with groups who specialize in child protection and [seek to end] child abuse and exploitation.”
November 27:
November 27: On her Instagram Stories, Kim Kardashian discussed the contentious Balenciaga campaign. She said, in part, “I have been quiet for the past few days, not because I haven’t been disgusted and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns, but because I wanted an opportunity to speak to their team to understand for myself how this could have happened.”
The mother of four and creator of Skims continued by stating that she was “shaken” by the “disturbing images” in the campaign and that “the protection of children must be regarded with the utmost care and any attempts to normalize child abuse of any form should have no place in our society — period.”
In her final statement, Kardashian said that although she thought the Balenciaga team realized the seriousness of the situation, her future with the company was still up in the air. As a result of the company’s willingness to take responsibility for an incident that should have never happened in the first place, she stated, “I am currently re-evaluating my connection with the brand.”
Balenciaga filed a $25 million complaint on November 25 in response to the spring 2023 advertisement, which includes documents from a Supreme Court ruling on child pornography legislation. According to reports, the case against North Six, the production firm for the shoot, and Nicholas Des Jardins, the shoot’s set designer, was submitted by Balenciaga to the New York State Supreme Court.
The New York Times reports that the document asserts that Des Jardins’ and North Six’s conduct were “inexplicable,” and that their “omissions were malevolent or, at the absolute least, exceedingly imprudent.” A spokeswoman for Des Jardins responded by complaining that the set designer is “being utilized as a scapegoat,” according to The Washington Post.
It could be argued that Balenciaga excels at courting controversy. Creative director Demna has gained a reputation in recent years for consistently grabbing the public’s attention with his outlandish, unorthodox, and even outright disturbing marketing. And thus far, it has proven to be a quite effective publicity tactic. But as the outrage against Balenciaga’s most recent commercials grows online, it seems the company has gone too far this time.
On November 16
On November 16, the brand unveiled a gifting campaign, captured by renowned photographer Gabriele Galimberti, to market products that were comparable to Balenciaga’s eccentricity, such as candlesticks in the shape of beer cans and dog bowls with jewels.
However, the accompanying photographs were not thought to be entertaining at all. Children can be seen carrying teddy bears that are decked out in bondage accessories like lockable collars, leather harnesses, and fishnets. If the implied sexualization of children wasn’t unsettling enough, another advertisement’s use of explicit props felt even more inappropriate.
A handbag is perched on a stack of papers in one image from their spring 2023 campaign, which was unveiled just five days later. The papers are presumably references to a U.S. Supreme Court case involving child pornography.
One of Balenciaga’s biggest PR disasters in recent memory, with social media users increasingly calling for the brand to be dropped because of the unsettling images. Additionally, the fashion house has turned to damage control rather than welcoming conflict as they would normally do.
Balenciaga took to Instagram Stories on November 22 to formally address the controversy after removing the photographs from all platforms. The statement said, “We deeply apologize for any offense our holiday marketing may have caused.” “This campaign shouldn’t have included images of our plush bear bags with kids in them.”
The fashion house continued by expressing regret for the aforementioned “unsettling documents.” The Balenciaga statement continued, “We take this situation extremely seriously and are pursuing legal action against the parties responsible for building the set and including unauthorized goods for our spring 23 commercial shooting. “We vehemently condemn child abuse in all its forms. We advocate for the protection and welfare of children.
Even after the campaign was halted and an apology was made, the public is not quite ready to forget and forgive. In fact, it’s possible that the recently made statements have provoked even more fury: some accuse the company of denying responsibility, while others contend that the whole scandal is just another example of outrage marketing.
Fashion blogger Louis Pisano asked, “Do they think we’re stupid?” Before it was launched, that campaign “passed [through several] people, including DEMNA, and now they’re trying to scapegoat the ‘parties responsible.'”
The general reaction as fallout spreads is more of a query: Is this really an accident? After all, deliberately created chaos is what Balenciaga feeds on. The company holds fashion displays in unusual locations like the New York Stock Exchange, mud pits, and fake snowstorms.
The Simpsons and Fortnite have both worked with it, and it has also enlisted unexpected celebrities for catwalk cameos. It frequently releases ridiculous designs, such as trash bag totes and “destroyed” sneakers. Theories contend that Balenciaga is a social experiment in and of itself because of how unpredictable its meme-worthy fashion has grown in recent years.
Demna has a history of incorporating deeper meaning and insightful commentary into each of his astounding exploits. Given everything, some people find it difficult to accept that a mistake like this was simply an oversight.
The Balenciaga holiday campaign, according to TikTok fashion commentator Jasmine Darya (@jasminedarya), is the consequence of the company’s pursuit of sensationalism rather than a careless error. In a recent video, she remarked, “I feel like in the last couple of years, they’ve really gone towards this ‘anything to get a headline’ mentality.
“You know you’ve gone too far as a fashion business when you start depending on headlines and cheap publicity to sell your goods,” she wrote in the description. Is Balenciaga genuinely cancellable, even with this questionable commercial appearance? Exists a brand?
The problem is that social media fury in the fashion industry consistently fizzles out quickly. Think about Dolce & Gabbana. Despite a history of overt misogyny, racism, and homophobia, the Italian label has mostly escaped criticism thanks to the unwavering backing of A-list stars like the Kar-Jenners. As luck would have it, Balenciaga also benefits from star power.
Kim Kardashian has essentially become the face of the brand after consistently representing it for the past year. The beauty and shapewear tycoon has resisted calls for her to denounce this campaign as of the time of publication, which is a statement in and of itself.
We might never be able to determine whether the campaign was a deliberate plot or a tone-deaf error. But does it really matter what you say? Although the ethics may be hazy, shock value seems to always be in vogue.
