Luxury fashion house Balenciaga issued an apology on Monday after facing backlash for two separate ad campaigns that some individuals claimed appeared to promote or glorify child abuse.
The controversies stemmed from two separate adverts, the most recent of which was released for Balenciaga’s Christmas “Gift Collection” campaign. The set featured at least one photograph of a young child holding a plush teddy bear – which is actually a purse designed by the brand – whose clothes resemble “what some have labeled BDSM-inspired outfits,” Balenciaga acknowledged.
A flurry of social media attention surrounding those photos also drew scrutiny towards a Balenciaga campaign for Spring 2023, in which documents from the 2008 Supreme Court case United States v. Williams could be seen among other papers strewn across a desk. The case concerned a ruling from the nation’s highest court that found a federal ban on the “pandering of material” believed to contain pornographic images of children – in other words, promoting or otherwise discussing obtaining or having the obscene material – did not violate the First Amendment.
In other words, the Supreme Court upheld a federal law that prohibited advertising, presenting, or distributing images purported to be child pornography, even if the images did not ultimately constitute child pornography.
“We would like to address the controversies surrounding our recent ad campaigns,” the company wrote in a statement released Monday. “We strongly condemn child abuse; it was never our intent to include it in our narrative. The two separate ad campaigns in question reflect a series of grievous errors for which Balenciaga takes responsibility.”
On the bondage bear bags, Balenciaga said they “should not have been featured with children,” saying it was a “wrong choice by Balenciaga, combined with our failure in assessing and validating images.”
On the Spring 2023 campaign, the company said it takes “full accountability” for its lack of oversight in what documents were being used in the background of the photograph, but also said the “items included in this shooting were provided by third parties that confirmed in writing that these props were fake office documents.”
“They turned out to be real legal papers most likely coming from the filming of a television drama,” the company continued. “The inclusion of these unapproved documents was the result of reckless negligence for which Balenciaga has filed a complaint.”
Court documents filed Friday confirmed the fashion brand had indeed filed suit against North Six, the production company behind the Spring 2023 photos, as well as set designer Nicholas Des Jardins, alleging that the "inexplicable acts and omissions were malevolent or, at the very least, extraordinarily reckless."
The suit, which seeks $25 million in damages, said that as a result of the campaign, "members of the public, including the news media, have falsely and horrifically associated Balenciaga with the repulsive and deeply disturbing subject of the court decision.”
According to a statement obtained by CNN, an attorney for Des Jardins said their client “was not responsible for image selection from the shoot," adding that “representatives from Balenciaga were present at the shoot, overseeing it and handling papers and props.”
"There certainly was no malevolent scheme going on,” the statement continued. “As Balenciaga is aware, numerous boxes of documents simply were sourced from a prop house as rental items."
Meanwhile, a representative for North Six told the outlet the company "did not have creative input or control over the shoot,” adding: “North Six was not on set during the final set arrangements."
Gabriele Galimberti, the photographer behind Balenciaga’s “Gift Collection” campaign, released his own statement on social media saying while he cannot comment on the company’s choices, he “was only and solely requested to lit the given scene, and take the shots according to my signature style.”
“As usual, the direction of the campaign and of the shooting are not on the hands of the photographer,” Galimberti added, further stressing that he had “no connection with the photo where a Supreme Court document appears.”
“That one was taken in another set by other people and was falsely associated with my photos,” he said.
In addition to pursuing legal action against North Six and Des Jardins, Balenciaga said it would be “closely revising our organization and collective ways of working” by “reinforcing the structures around our creative processes and validation steps.”
“Balenciaga reiterates its sincere apologies for the offense we have caused and extends its apologies to talents and partners,” the company wrote.
Still, Balenciaga’s internal and external actions came in the wake of scrutiny from some of its biggest celebrity partners – including Kim Kardashian, who on Sunday wrote she had previously kept silent because she “wanted an opportunity to speak to their team to understand for myself how this could have happened.”
“As a mother of four, I have been shaken by the disturbing images,” Kardashian wrote. “The safety of children must be held with the highest regard and any attempts to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society — period.”
While saying she believes the company understands the severity of the issue and will not repeat the mistakes in the future, the 42-year-old said she is “currently re-evaluating my relationship with the brand, basing it off their willingness to accept accountability for something that should have never happened to begin with — & the actions I am expecting to see them take to protect children.”
