Dusseldorf, 24 November 2022: Luxury fashion house Balenciaga has apologised and retracted its recent gift campaign that showed children cuddling teddy bears in sexual bondage gear. The images were of the brand's "plush bear bags" with S&M-like harnesses. A second campaign photo even featured documents that appeared to show court records related to a controversial child pornography case.

Balenciaga is known in the luxury fashion industry for its outlandish advertising methods. Italian photographer Gabriele Galimberti shot the latest Balenciaga Gift Shop campaign, dubbed "Toy Story" by the company, which featured young children dressed in the Balenciaga Kids collection. 

The original press release for this read "the campaign is based on the artist's Toy Stories series, an exploration of what people collect and receive as gifts". It said the campaign features "dozens of new products ranging from housewares, pet apparel and fragrances to everyday items, limited edition collectibles and custom furniture".

On social media, the sexual innuendo was immediately noticed and there were immediate angry reactions to the images.

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The apology

In a statement posted on Instagram, the label apologised: "We sincerely apologise for any offence our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been shown with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms."

Two hours later, Balenciaga issued a second apology after it was pointed out that another photo featured documents that appeared to show court records related to a controversial child pornography case.

This second statement reads as follows: "We apologise for showing disturbing documents in our campaign. We take this matter very seriously and will be taking legal action against the parties responsible for creating the set and shooting unauthorised items for our Spring 23 campaign photo shoot.

Gabriele Galimberti

Photographer Gabriele Galimberti attempted to distance himself from responsibility to CNN, saying, "I am not in a position to comment on Balenciaga's decisions, but I must stress that I was in no way authorised to choose either the products, the models, or the combination of the same.

It goes on to say: "As a photographer, I was solely required to illuminate the given scene (sic) and take the shots in my typical style. As usual, the direction of the campaign and the shoot is not in the hands of the photographer. I suspect that any person prone to paedophilia will search the internet and unfortunately have too easy access to images that are quite different from mine, absolutely explicit in their horrific content. Lynchings like this are directed at the wrong targets and distract from the real problem, the criminals."

Further, he wrote in his statement that the second photo with the court files shown was not his. 

Other reactions:

Reactions on social media were fierce and a short time later the hashtag cancelbalenciaga was seen. Advertising icon Bella Hadid, who was shot with Nicole Kidman for the new campaign, deleted two of her Instagram posts on Tuesday after just a few hours. 

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In 2001, Balenciaga was bought by the Herring Group, then known as Gucci Group. Balenciaga's sales today amount to €1.75 billion.

Balenciaga was founded in 1919 by Cristobal Balenciaga, and has been under the creative direction of Georgian designer Demna since 2015.

The current campaign, released this week, features Nicole Kidman and Bella Hadid.

Just last week, Balenciaga officially left Twitter following its acquisition by Elon Musk. Several major companies, including General Motors and Dyson, have suspended their advertising campaigns on Twitter. Last month, Balenciaga cut ties with Kanye West after a series of anti-Semitic posts and controversial comments.

Updated, 25 November 2022:

Father of British child model who posed in bondage-themed Balenciaga campaign defends photo shoot to Online Mail. The father, who remains anonymous, insists his daughter had a "fantastic time". The reactions were "disproportionate" and the whole thing was "an enjoyable day".

The photos - which have since been removed from the company's website - showed a small red-haired child standing on a pink plush bed and carrying a teddy. The plush toy wore spiky leather wristbands on its arms and legs, as well as a mesh crop top with a chain and neck padlock while another teddy appeared to be wearing a black lace thong. Shift in values in society. 

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The deviant campaign was immediately removed by Balenciaga itself with detailed apologies, acknowledgement of the serious incidents and promises of clarification.

By Francesca Morelli, 25 November 2022

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