High-end French fashion brand, Balenciaga, have issued an apology and pulled their recent holiday campaign, after it sparked major backlash on social media. The series of adverts featured children carrying the brand's 'plush bear bags', which are wearing S&M style harnesses. Another advert, for their 'hourglass bag' displayed documents from the Supreme Court related to child pornography cases.
In a statement posted to their Instagram Stories, the label apologised for causing any offence with the adverts featuring young children holding the bags, which many called 'disgusting' and 'over-sexualised' online, saying: "We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured 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 on a table in another of their adverts, documents appearing to show court filings related to a controversial child pornography-related case were on display.
This second statement in full reads: "We apologize for displaying unsettling 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 unapproved items for our Spring 23 campaign photoshoot.
"We strongly condemn abuse of children in any form. We stand for children safety and well-being."
Commenting on the adverts, one Twitter user labelled the brand's approach to marketing as 'disgusting' and accused them of taking the 'shock factor' way too far. "I understand that a lot of Balenciaga’s marketing is the 'shock factor' of it all but this is just disgusting," they wrote.
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Another called the brand out by writing: "the brand "Balenciaga" just did a uh..... interesting... photoshoot for their new products recently which included a very purposely poorly hidden court document about 'virtual child porn' normal stuff".
Others also questioned whether Kim Kardashian, an ambassador for the brand, will be speaking out on the campaign to condemn it. So far, the reality star has kept quiet. Model Bella Hadid, who has also worked with Balenciaga, has deleted her recent Instagram post promoting the label.
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
