Balenciaga has released an explanation of how on earth documents which referenced child pornography appeared in its Spring ’23 campaign in a second apology for its disturbing photoshoot.
In a lengthy statement posted to Instagram, the fashion house “strongly” condemned child abuse and said the the offending papers appeared due to a “a series of previous errors”.
“The first campaign, the gift collection campaign, featured children with plush bear bags dressed in what some have labelled BDSM-inspired outfits,” the statement said.
“Our plush bear beds and the gift collection should not have featured with children. This was a wrong choice by Balenciaga, combined with our failure in assessing and validating images. The responsibility for this lies with Balenciaga alone.”
The Balenciaga ad is disgusting. Toddlers posing with BDSM sex toys and alcohol. Hiding in plain sight a Supreme Court case involving a federal child porn law… Stop sexualizing kids to sell your ugly overpriced crap. #Balenciagapic.twitter.com/hTNJ4TD6od
the brand "Balenciaga" just did a uh….. interesting… photoshoot for their new products recently which included a very purposely poorly hidden court document about 'virtual child porn'
“The second, seperate campaign for Spring 2023, which was meant to replicate a business office environment, included a photo with a page in the background from a Supreme Court ruling ‘United States v Williams’ 2008 which confirms as illegal and not protected by freedom of speech the promotion of child pornography,” the statement continued.
“All items included in this shooting were provided by third parties that confirmed in writing that these props were fake office documents. They turned out to be real legal papers most likely coming from the filming of a television drama.
“The inclusion of these unapproved documents was the result of reckless negligence for which Balenciaga has filed a complaint. We take full accountability for our lack of oversight and control of the documents in the background and we could have done things differently.”
Balenciaga then confirmed that while investigations are still ongoing, there are some moves the brand has already taken. Namely that it is revising its validation steps in its creative process so nothing like this happens again, and that it will be working with organisations which specialise in child protection.
The disgraced brand has also filed a $USD25 million ($AUD37.6 million) lawsuit against the parties allegedly responsible: production company North Six and set designer and his company.
ICYMI, the controversial Balenciaga campaign involved children holding teddy bears that wore BDSM harnesses while surrounded by other alcohol and at times, sex toys.
TikTokers zoomed in on the papers displayed in one campaign image and found documents from a Supreme Court case involving child pornography.
Balenciaga has since then removed the campaign and issued a formal apology on Instagram after major backlash online.
“We sincerely apologise for any offence our holiday campaign may have caused,” the two-part Instagram Story began.
“Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms.
“We apologise for displaying unsettling documents in our campaign. We take this matter very seriously and are taking legal action against the parties responsible for creating the set and including unapproved items for our Spring 23 campaign photoshoot. We strongly condemn abuse of children in any form. We stand for children safety and well-being.”
Celebrities have come out in droves to criticise Balenciaga, , who typically has a favourable relationship with the brand.
Balenciaga has always pushed the boundaries by and .
But sexualising children in the name of fashion is absolutely fucking inexcusable.
Someone dead-ass looked up those child porn court documents, printed them off and displayed them next to young children.
And given the amount of people I imagine would be present at a Balenciaga photoshoot, how did no one put their hand up and say how messed up it looks to have a child posing next to sex toys and booze?
The parent of one of the child models who posed in Balenciaga’s disturbing BDSM ad campaign has since spoken out and defended the brand from angry backlash.
The father, who chose to remain anonymous, told that the shoot was “an enjoyable day out” for his daughter and the pictures from it had been taken “totally out of context” by people on the internet.
“No parent would actively encourage the child to take part in something which was pornographic, and I think the publicity surrounding what happened has been blown out of all proportion,” he said.
The father revealed that most of the models in the shoot were children of Balenciaga employees who had approved of the campaign.
He also insisted Spanish photographer , who took the photos but had no say in creative direction, was “innocent” and didn’t deserve the backlash he was getting for his involvement in the campaign.
“I feel desperately sorry for Gabriele, this had nothing to do with him and he was merely taking the photographs as requested by Balenciaga,” the anonymous parent said.
“The parents of the children were at the shoot and they approved of what took place.”
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