Balenciaga apologises after netizens call it out for ‘disturbing’ campaign with children and ‘bondage’ teddy bears

Luxury fashion house Balenciaga had to issue a public apology after one of its recent campaigns featuring children was deemed inappropriate and disturbing.

The campaign in question showed children holding, what appears to be, teddy bears dressed in bondage accessories, along with an image of a supreme court opinion on a child pornography case, states The Independent.

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The French fashion label took to Instagram stories to share an apology, writing, “We sincerely apologise 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.”

Photo: Instagram/@balenciaga

Photo: Instagram/@balenciaga

In the subsequent story, it apologised for “displaying unsettling documents”, adding: “We take this matter very seriously and are taking legal action against the parties responsible for creating the set and including unapproved items.”

Photo: Instagram/@balenciaga

Photo: Instagram/@balenciaga

“We strongly condemn abuse of children in any form. We stand for children safety and well-being,” the statement read.

The controversial photoshoot was displayed on the official Balenciaga website — which has now been taken down — as part of its recent campaign titled ‘Toy Stories’. It showed child models posing with the brand’s teddy bear handbags from the Paris Fashion Week spring/summer 2023 collection.

Netizens, however, are not convinced with the apology. They took to Twitter to express their anguish, slamming the fashion house by pointing out that the apology only arrived after it started to receive criticism online, and that the stuffed toys were evidently dressed in bondage and BDSM gear, like leather harnesses and collars, among other things.

Check out some of these reactions:

i understand that a lot of balenciaga’s marketing is the “shock factor” of it all but this is just disgusting https://t.co/5ftuK2ZG6W

— tori (@voguepearls) November 21, 2022

Balanciaga’s homepage.

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•child with a BDSM stuffed animal with PANDA EYES
•WHITE RABBIT on the bed
• that picture of the bag looks innocent right? — zoom in & it’s what appears to be court documents arguing about some type of s*xual misconduct and p*rnography… ??? pic.twitter.com/kvbZeqe3En

— oracle 𝟙𝟛🐺 (@StormEllimac) November 21, 2022

Remember when Balenciaga dropped Kanye West for being anti-semitic? Well, here is their new campaign featuring children, teddy bears in bondage and court papers that talk about pedo stuff. Seems like they no longer have the moral high ground #Balenciaga pic.twitter.com/7UQjBIpac3

— Purple Unicorns (@Purple_Unicornz) November 22, 2022

I cannot believe Balenciaga just- who signed off???? Who’s idea was it even because they need to be in jail. This is concerning. Horrifying.

— 𝓐𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓵 ☁️🏹 (@angelmillk) November 21, 2022

Why would a multi-million-dollar fashion company like Balenciaga run ads for their “Object Line” using children holding teddy bears in bondage costumes? Why would they place a copy of a court document on child pornography in the ad?

Who are targeting and what are they promoting?

— Just.A.Thought 💭 (@e_galv) November 21, 2022

Balenciaga -This perverse company that openly promoted the sexualisation of children. Now wants you to accept an apology…A set full of people on a shoot,with child porn documents on a table, that nobody noticed…NO!
You are only sorry you got caught. pic.twitter.com/28YzTGLpLl

— Suzanne Seddon (@suzseddon) November 23, 2022

Per the Independent report, the photos were taken by National Geographic photographer Gabriele Galimberti. He, too, faced criticism when people noticed that one of the images featured a supreme court opinion in a child pornography case as a prop.

Hey Photographers :
When Balenciaga hires you to shoot their new lookbook & you show up to find a toddler laid across a sofa with wine glasses & bondage gear arranged around them, you walk away. Period. pic.twitter.com/DSoHgQLM6O

— Hoop (@xhoop) November 21, 2022

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