Balenciaga released a second statement in an attempt to explain their controversial holiday campaign

Balenciaga released a second statement in an attempt to explain their controversial holiday campaign

photo: courtesy of Balenciaga

“Emphatically Frwe condemn child abuse, it was never our intention to include our idea in the story of this campaign,” the company said in its statement. “Our teddy bear handbags and gift collection were not meant to be presented to children. It was a poor choice by our Balenciaga brand combined with our failure to review and verify the photos.” The fashion brand admitted full responsibility.

The campaign called Gift Shop, shot by the renowned photographer Gabriele Galimberti, was created for the spring 2023 collection and caused very negative feedback. It is accompanied by images where the fashion collection features small children holding “bears” in bondage, including harnesses, handcuffs and fishing nets. However, the exaggeration earned a lot of outrage on the Internet, while being inspired by Galimberti’s own “toy story” photo series. The fashion campaign is now bowing down in many falls, including child abuse laws. Balenciaga stands behind the fact that it is only a poorly chosen form of promotion without the intention of abusing anyone in any way.

“We are closely reviewing our organization and collective ways of working. We are strengthening the structure around our creative processes and validation steps. We want to make sure the new controls are our key point and prevent this from happening again,” the brand said in a statement, which also apologized for any offense the campaign may have caused. Images from the campaign were immediately pulled from all of the company’s platforms.

photo: courtesy of Balenciaga

Even her biggest supporter and ally, Kim Kardashian, has spoken out against the brand, saying she was outraged. “I’ve been quiet the last few days, not because I wasn’t shocked and outraged by Balenciaga’s recent campaigns, but because I wanted the opportunity to speak with their team to understand for myself how this could have happened,” the model commented on her Instagram. “As a mother of four, I was shocked by these disturbing images. The safety of children must be held in the highest regard and anything against it should have no place in our society.” she added. “I appreciate Balenciaga removing the campaigns and apologizing. After speaking with them, I believe they understand the seriousness of the problem and will take the necessary measures to ensure it never happens again.

On the social platform TikTok alone, the hashtag #cancelbalenciaga has over 105,000 views, with most attributed to content creators explaining why the holiday campaign is so pathetic. In recent years, Balenciaga has become synonymous with unconventional fashion campaigns, but this year may have ensured it a huge drop.


Source: Moda

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