Marketing & Advertising

In 2022, uproar erupted about a campaign that showed kids clutching teddy bears dressed up in bondage harnesses and costumes by Demna, the designer of Balenciaga. The business has been enduring a difficult road to recovery ever since. 

After six collections, four runway shows, and a few looks on the red carpet, it appears like both the fashion and celebrity worlds have warmed back up. In January, the company completed a full circle: Kim Kardashian debuted her first campaign as the official ambassador of Balenciaga, a little over a year after she declared she was “reevaluating” her long-standing association with the brand in the wake of the incident. It appears that the brand has reached its point of no return, at least for the time being.

What caused the controversy surrounding Balenciaga?

Balenciaga’s holiday advertising campaign debuted in November 2022, featuring kids cuddling teddy bears decked up in costumes and bondage harnesses. (The Balenciaga show during Paris Fashion Week featured the BDSM accessories as well.) The hashtag #cancelBalenciaga quickly became popular on Twitter and TikTok in response to the photographs, thus there was a rapid backlash against the brand.

Many people accused Demna, the creative director, and the brand of supporting child exploitation and paedophilia. A bag from the design house’s partnership with Adidas was featured atop what appeared to be court records from the United States v. Williams case, in which the Supreme Court affirmed the PROTECT Act, which strengthened federal safeguards against child pornography. Both campaigns gave rise to conspiracy ideas and were soon used as talking points by conservatives.

Additionally, photos that were taken out of context from stylist Lotta Volkova’s Instagram account that featured violent events and demonic imagery were picked up and shared by right-wing conspiracy theorists. Volkova hasn’t collaborated with Balenciaga since 2017, according to a spokeswoman. 

The heiress of Gucci and supporter of children’s rights Alexandra Gucci Zarini criticised the brand’s “HA HA HA” campaign, which seemed to feature Harry Styles posing with a toddler-sized mattress. She added, “My worries are that Kering’s Fashion Houses appear to share a common ideology.” (Kering owns both Gucci and Balenciaga.)

Julia Fox and Kim Kardashian condemned the campaign

Kim Kardashian, a strong advocate of the company who recently included Demna, the creative director of Balenciaga, in a cameo on her Hulu series, ‘The Kardashians’, shared a statement on Instagram and Twitter addressing the negative response to the advertisement. She wrote, “I have been quiet for the past few days, not because I haven’t been disgusted and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns.” She continued by saying that she was presently reassessing the brand’s potential for future collaboration, “basing it off their willingness to accept accountability for something that should have never happened to begin with.”

On TikTok, Julia Fox posted a series of statements of her own. “I don’t have any connection to the brand. Fox remarked, “I haven’t even been to one of their shows; they haven’t invited me.” “Anyway, I think it’s terrible, and I literally felt sick to my stomach while reading and watching all the videos.” She continued by saying that “men” were the real issue here, not Hollywood or the fashion business.

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