Avoiding provocation and working on mistakes: Demna Gvasalia gave the first interview after the scandalous Balenciaga campaign

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Creative director of the Balenciaga brand Demna Gvasalia broke the silence after the scandalous advertising campaign of the fashion house “Gift Shop” and gave an interview to Vogue. The shoot was criticized due to the fact that the children participating in it were holding bags in the shape of bears, decorated with bandages, leather belts and collars in the style of BDSM. Social media users accused the brand and the designer of sexualizing underage models. About the purpose of shooting Demna says this:

The purpose of the shooting was to promote a number of things with an eye on the New Year holidays. There were a lot of disparate items – we needed a concept in which you can shoot many products at once together. The selection included children’s clothes and bags with teddy bears, which referred to punk and DIY culture, absolutely not to BDSM.

The designer noted that the team suggested a photographer, Italian documentary filmmaker Gabriele Galimberti. Gvasalia liked his work. In his earlier work, there are frames with many toys that are arranged around the room, with children standing in the center. Therefore, the brand team thought that in this way it is possible to show many things at once.

That was the misconception, my big mistake. I did not understand how inappropriate it was to arrange these objects in the frame and show the child among them. Unfortunately, the idea was wrong, the decision on my part was bad. We should not have captured the children along with things that had nothing to do with them, were inappropriate, – said Demna. – There were control processes, people specially involved for this – inside the company and outside it. But we just didn’t notice what exactly was the problem. It was an error in judgment and I am very sorry for that.

Demna said that he was called a terrible person. He admitted that it was extremely difficult for him to cope with the pressure. The designer agreed that this was his mistake and he should be held responsible for it.

We have learned from what happened: before the release of any image, we will conduct more thorough, more thorough checks, with more stages. I want to say I’m sorry. I sincerely apologize for what happened to everyone who was hurt.

The designer also noted professional changes in connection with the scandal. He, as a creative director, will now have to question absolutely everything. According to him, this significantly changes the method of work – before it was more instinctive.

I will have a more mature, serious approach to everything that I give out, be it an idea or an image. I decided to go back to my fashion roots and to the roots of Balenciaga. This is a brand that produces quality clothing and does not create hype. The provocative aspect of my work was often misinterpreted and misunderstood. I no longer want to use it in my work.

Recall that last fall, Demna Gvasalia presented an advertising campaign for the new spring collection Balenciaga Garde-robe. The main characters of the shooting were actresses Nicole Kidman and Isabelle Huppert, as well as supermodel Bella Hadid. They appeared in the form of modern business women and posed in the office.