Balenciaga and the scandal of the advertising campaigns: what happened – Corriere.it

Because on social networks a revolt is unleashing against Balenciaga? Bags, clothes and accessories thrown in the garbage, or even ruined in favor of the camera.

What’s happening to the brand founded by the Spanish designer Cristbal Balenciaga – now owned by Kering, the French luxury conglomerate that also owns brands such as Gucci and Saint Laurent – ​​has become a cultural reference for fashion?

It all starts with an advertising campaign, which evidently wanted to get people talking (in a positive way) and instead had the opposite effect. But let’s go in order.

The reconstruction

The controversies and criticisms of the last few days are linked to two brand campaigns.

In one the models were gods children clutching bags resembling gods teddy bears with bondage accessories.

In the other, however, the shots showed documents on the laws concerning the child pornography.

It all started on November 16th: Balenciaga released (and quickly deleted) the campaign Balenciaga Gift Shopsigned by the Italian photographer Gabriel Galimberti. The shots showed six children with handbags made of destroyed teddy bears, already seen in the spring 2023 show in Paris. What was special about these bags? The bears eyes were black and the body was accessorized with a mesh top and leather trim.

In a short time, users began to link these handbags to bondage-style accessories, criticizing the choice of combining children with such a vision.

On November 21, the Spanish brand launched a new campaign, Garde Robe 2023. Someone – probably already annoyed by the previous campaign – enlarged the photographs to read the documents that were present at the scene: Supreme Court decisions on child pornography laws.

As Balenciaga responded

Balenciaga did not immediately respond to online criticism and controversy: it dates back to November 24 the brand statement in which he apologized for the Gift Shop campaign, promising to remove it from social media.

We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We immediately removed the campaign from all platforms, a statement posted on Instagram reads.

And then new apologies came for the Garde-Robe campaign: We apologize for showing disturbing documents in our campaign. And again: We take this matter very seriously and are pursuing legal action against the parties responsible for setting up and including unapproved items for our Spring 23 campaign photoshoot. We strongly condemn any form of child abuse . We support the safety and well-being of children.

The following day, November 25, Balenciaga filed with the New York court documents to start a $25 million lawsuit against production company North Six and production designer Nicholas Des Jardins, responsible for the set project for the Garde-Robe campaign. In the sheets, as reported by New York Timesthe production company and set designer were alleged to have engaged in unexplained acts and omissions that were malicious or, at the very least, extraordinarily reckless.

In a subsequent post published on November 28, also on Instagram, Balenciaga writes that the documents were inserted into the campaign photographs without his knowledge: All the elements included in the shooting were brought in by third parties who confirmed in writing that they were fakes office documents. They later turned out to be real legal documents, possibly stemming from the set of a TV series. The inclusion of these unapproved documents was the result of reckless negligence for which Balenciaga has filed a complaint. We take full responsibility for our lack of control and could have done things differently.

Again in this statement for the Spanish brand assumes the responsibility for the first campaign, the one with children and bondage-style bear-bags (already seen on fashion shows in recent months). Our plush bags and Gift Collection should not have been presented with children. This was a poor choice by Balenciaga coupled with our failure to evaluate and validate the images. The responsibility for this lies solely with Balenciaga. So if a complaint started for the second campaign, not for the first.

The I photograph Galimberti had also published statements immediately after the mounting criticism online: I’m not in a position to comment on Balenciaga’s choices, but I must stress that I had no right not to choose products, models, or combinations of them. As a photographer, I was only asked to turn on the given scene, and take the shots according to my signature style. As usual for an advertising shooting, the direction of the campaign and the choice of exhibits are not in the hands of the photographer.

At the end of his press release, Balenciaga apologizes again for what happened, but this didn’t help stop the wave that had already started. Always on November 28 in fact The business of fashion announced the revocation of the Global Voices 2022 award to the creative director of Balenciaga Demna, precisely because of its involvement in the controversial campaign. BoF explained the choice by describing the images as completely inconsistent with our values. The site reported that its invitation for Balenciaga to attend and offer an explanation was declined.

The reactions

On the web, especially on social networks, videos, posts and comments against the Spanish brand have flocked. Just search Balenciaga on TikTok to find footage of people destroying their bags, throwing them in the trash can or returning them. No mercy for pedophiles, we read in support of a video. The hashtag #balenciagacancelled has totaled nearly 22 million views on TikTok.

Also Kim Kardashian, who has collaborated with the brand for a long time, especially after her divorce from Kanye West, spoke about the scandal: on November 27, she said she was reevaluating her relationship with the brand after being criticized for not making a comment sooner. As a mother of four, I was rocked by the disturbing images, Ms. Kardashian wrote on Twitter. The safety of children must be held in the utmost regard and any attempt to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society, period. I appreciate the removal of the campaigns and the apology from Balenciaga. In speaking with them, I believe they understand the seriousness of the problem and will take the necessary steps so that this never happens again, she added.

I have been quiet for the past few days, not because I haven?t been disgusted and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns, but because I wanted an opportunity to speak to their team to understand for myself how this could have happened.

— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) November 27, 2022