Balenciaga’s most recent advertisement, which features children holding stuffed animals that appear to be dressed in bondage-inspired attire, has drawn criticism.
The model shared images from a campaign she was working on for the Spanish high-fashion brand on Instagram before quickly deleting the post because of the backlash.
A photoshoot for the high-end fashion brand features children dressed in BDSM garb and holding teddy bears.
Due to the striking resemblance between their teddy bear and BDSM material, critics have knocked Balenciaga.
One user commented: “Can’t believe these celebrities have no care for the children at all! You work with a label that have sexually exploited children in their ad campaigns! But because the people spoke up they’ve apologised … they wouldn’t have otherwise and you puppets are ok with it all?! [sic]”
In a statement, Balenciaga apologized for the troubling images and suggested that Italian photographer Gabriele Galimberti was behind their contentious advertising campaign.
The statement reads: “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.
‘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 the abuse of children in any form. We stand for children’s safety and well-being.”
In response to the criticisms, photographer Gabriele Galimberti denied having any influence over the creative direction of the shoot.
