Spanish fashion company Balenciaga has removed their newest ad campaign after people protested the imagery. During Paris Fashion Week, Balenciaga debuted their recent Spring/Summer 2023 collection. Their ads included children holding fluffy bear handbags in bondage gear, one of the photos of a little girl on a couch in front of a table with wine glasses, plates, and a dog bowl and collar. In an initial press release for the product line, the company said the 2023 collection featured "dozens of new products ranging from homeware, petwear and scent, from everyday items to limited-edition collectibles and bespoke furniture."
Hundreds took to social media and protested the images. Some call the campaign "beyond disturbing," others say this is "absolutely disgusting." Sexualizing children to advertise their products is wrong. This campaign comes after current events consisting of Jeffrey Epstein's trafficking in minors case and pedophiles using the LGBTQ platform to groom children.
In another photo, a collaboration handbag with ADIDAS is shown on a table with papers strewn throughout. From those who did some digging, one of the documents is an excerpt from a 2008 Supreme Court case, United States v. Williams. Michael Williams was convicted in federal court of promoting child pornography; he was charged with one count of "pandering" (promoting), child porn, and one count of possessing child porn. With the little girls surrounded with BDSM kink, and a child pornography court case document, how could this ad campaign not be pandering to a certain class of consumer? Conspiracy or truth, these photos are disturbing nonetheless.
The luxury fashion company has since apologized for the campaign.
We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been placed with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms.
We apologize for displaying disturbing 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 non-approved items for our Spring 23 campaign photo shoot. We strongly condemn abuse of children in any form. We stand for the safety and well-being of children.”
If Balenciaga truly cared about children, they wouldn't have allowed these photos to be released in the first place. The campaign should not have been approved.
The company is putting Italian photographer Gabriele Galimberti (National Geographic) on the chopping block, criticizing his images.
Balenciaga removed the images of this campaign from their website and their social media accounts, to include Twitter and Instagram, and are seeking legal action against all involved.
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