Balenciaga and the Fashion Industry

On Twitter and TikTok, the hashtag #CancelBalenciaga has been popular in response to Balenciaga’s campaign.

Multiple celebrities have also responded to accusations that the brand and its creative director, Demna, are supporting paedophilia and child abuse by utilising allegedly inappropriate photographs.

In the November advertisement for Balenciaga’s spring/summer 2023 line, a bag from the fashion house’s collaboration with Adidas was shown on top of what appeared to be evidence from the United States v. Williams case, which upheld the PROTECT Act and expanded rights and protections against child pornography. Many people have boycotted the brand as a result of the advertisements’ massive outrage.

Balenciaga launched a previous campaign with tape in the background and the spelling Baal-en-ciaga. When you analyse the name, it translates to the ancient Latin mythology “God of child sacrifice is the king.” Moreover, during their fashion shows, the models walked on the stage with bags carrying children’s toys and clothes with blood on them.

Balenciagascrapped Spring ’23 campaign, a picture with a book in the background by Michael Borremans. The book is called “fire from the sun” which features naked children as the artwork.

On November 22, the fashion brand issued two apology statements through their Instagram account: “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.”

Balenciaga filed a $25 million lawsuit against set designer Nicholas Des Jardins and North Six, Inc. on November 25 in regard to the divisive campaign photo that included the court documents (and was distinct from the imagery with the teddy bears). However, later, they would not seek the lawsuit against north six.

Photographer Gabriele Galimberti has swiftly distanced himself from the images used in the festive advertising. Gabriele Galimberti released a statement saying:

“I am not in a position to comment on Balenciaga’s choices, but I must stress that I was not entitled in a whatsoever manner to neither chose the products, nor the models, nor the combination of the same,” he wrote. “As a photographer, I was only and solely requested to lit the given scene and take the shots according to my signature style.”

Kim Kardashian, who has previously starred in her own Balenciaga campaign, issued a statement on Instagram and Twitter saying: “I have been quiet for the past few days, not because I have not been disgusted and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns,” she continued, “basing it off their willingness to accept accountability for something that should have never happened to begin with.” She has decided not to leave the brand and still work with them.

Balenciaga is not the first fashion brand that used children and created a scandal. People will not buy the dress or the fashion just because they see a young girl the age of 15 wearing it. There is no need for premature young girls and over-sexualization for a campaign in the fashion world.

Many businesses prefer to hire minors over adults because of their susceptibility. At the same time, other major fashion labels in the same category, like Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen, and Saint Laurent, have kept silent.

Regarding whether BDSM-type clothing has a place in the world of high fashion and whether minors should be displayed in advertisements with this style of apparel, Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, and Alexander McQueen did not react to questions from Fox News Digital. Concerning how they would make sure that identical advertising effort were not created, the corporations likewise did not provide a response.

Unsettling new fashion campaigns for French Vogue, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Prada, and the like raise the disturbing possibility that the fashion industry feels exempt from the laws against child pornography. Although not blatantly pornographic, the advertisements each feature kids, some as young as 10, disguised as adults, in adult settings. Two of the photo shoots—one each for Prada and Vogue—is obviously sexual. Thylane Lena-Rose Blondeau, 10, is shown in the Vogue issue both wearing lipstick and going topless. The Prada video shows 13-year-old Ondria Hardin caressing herself sensually.

“You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing” was the line said by 14-year-old Brooke Shields crooned in the 1980 Calvin Klein denim commercial.

On her Instagram profile, McCord declared that she would be organising the protest.:” If you are against sexual exploitation of children and would like to join, we’d love to have you!’ Protesters gathered in front of a Balenciaga flagship store in Beverly Hills. At the same time, protests of a similar nature took place in London and New York City.