Fashion house Balenciaga is in hot water and has a number of celebrities distancing themselves from the brand amid a scandal over photographs in a campaign of children holding teddies dressed in bondage.
The hashtag #CancelBalenciaga has been trending on Twitter and TikTok in response to the photographs.
Critics have accused the company and its creative director, Demna, of condoning paedophilia and child exploitation by using such the images in question while a number of celebrities have also responded.
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In a separate November ad for Balenciaga’s spring/summer 2023 collection, a bag from Balenciaga's partnership with Adidas was pictured on top of what appear to be documents from the Supreme Court case United States v. Williams, which upheld the PROTECT Act, which increased federal protections against child pornography. Both campaigns have sparked widespread backlash with many boycotting the brand.
On November 22, the fashion house had issued two statements via its Instagram Stories apologising: “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’s safety and well-being.”
In relation to the contentious campaign photo featuring the court documents, (which was separate from the imagery featuring the teddy bears) Balenciaga sued North Six, Inc. and set designer Nicholas Des Jardins for $25 million on November 25.
Gabriele Galimberti, the photographer behind the holiday campaign, has been quick to distance himself from the imagery.
He released a statement saying: “I am not in a position to comment on Balenciaga’s choices, but I must stress that I was not entitled in whatsoever manner to neither chose the products, nor the models, nor the combination of the same,” he wrote. “As a photographer, I was only and solely requested to lit the given scene, and take the shots according to my signature style.”
Celebrities have also weighed in on the scandal. On Sunday, Kim Kardashian, who has previously starred in her own Balenciaga campaign, issued a statement on Instagram and Twitter saying: “I have been quiet for the past few days, not because I haven’t been disgusted and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns,” she wrote.
Her statement went on to say she is currently reevaluating her future relationship with the brand, “basing it off their willingness to accept accountability for something that should have never happened to begin with.”
Despite having zero relationship with the brand, actress Julia Fox posted on TikTok: “I think it’s horrific and when I was reading and watching all the videos I literally felt sick to my stomach.”
She went on to claim that this was not a problem of Hollywood or the fashion industry, but an issue with “men.”
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