The Current Situation
On January 22, Balenciaga revealed its freshest ambassador, Keeping Up With The Kardashians star Kim Kardashian. She had posed on Instagram for the label’s new Closet Campaign, flaunting her expansive collection of bags from her exorbitant closet. This included more than 120 Balenciaga bags. This had come after the controversial 2022 campaigns that had portrayed child models in an exploitative manner.
Following the fashion house’s announcement, Kim took to social media and released a statement, which was also shared by the brand on their social media pages. Kim said, “For several years now, Balenciaga’s designs have been a part of my many looks – and some of my most iconic fashion moments. This historic fashion house embraces modernity, and craftsmanship and takes an innovative approach to design under Demna.”
She added, “For me, this long-standing relationship is built on mutual trust and a commitment to doing what’s right. I’m excited about this next chapter for the brand and to become their ambassador”
The news has not gone down well with fans. Reacting to this news, one fan said, “Lmao. Kim Kardashian is back at Balenciaga after that big statement she put out after the ad controversy. These people…” A second fan wrote, “Bad choice.” A third fan commented, “A few days ago she promoted Starbucks and now this. How much more money does this woman need, she is literally a billionaire.” Another user said, “Did everyone just forget about the pedo thing?” Below are some contextual facts to understand the situation better!
Table of Contents
The Bondage Paraphernalia Controversy
On November 16 2022, Balenciaga published a Christmas holiday campaign called Balenciaga Gift Shop, which featured images of children with the brand’s handbags that look like teddy bears in bondage gear. This Balenciaga campaign fueled criticism from netizens and celebrities alike. It even managed to create a sensational uproar on Fox News.
The two new campaigns were under the leadership of Denma Gvasalia who became the artistic director of Balenciaga in 2015, and chief executive Cedric Charbit.The controversial pair each featured photos of children clutching. handbags that look like teddy bears in bondage gear and photos that show paperwork about child pornography laws.
The First Campaign
This led to serious allegations against the high-end luxury brand involving claims of child exploitation, becoming one of the largest fashion conspiracies of the decade. The first campaign, which included Nicole Kidman, Isabelle Huppert and Bella Hadid as models, unfortunately, showed off the brand’s “Hourglass” handbag for its Spring 2023 campaign photoshoot, along with printed paperwork of the Supreme Court’s 2008 decision in U.S. v. Williams. The case mainly dealt with laws banning the promotion of child pornography.
The Second Campaign
The second campaign was called the “Balenciaga Gift Shop”. It was shot by an Italian documentary photographer by the name of Gabriele Galimberti, who had previously only published a book with children’s photos, and this was his first experience working with a fashion brand. Unfortunately, his photos featured six kids holding distressed handbags in the shape of teddy bears, with leather harnesses and fishnets. The questionable photoshoot was brought under fire in no time.
Feigned Apologies
What followed was a storm of backlash online and feigned apologies from Balenciaga that failed to quell the rage of the public. After two weeks of silence and ignorance at Balenciaga’s end, the brand issued a statement admitting “a series of grievous errors for which Balenciaga takes full responsibility.” It even went on to claim that they’ve started several “internal and external investigations” and “new controls” by getting in touch with “organizations who specialize in child protection and aim at ending child abuse and exploitation.”
Demna and Cedric issued separate statements, including a list of actions the fashion house promised to take. This meant a complete makeover for the internal administration and planning to contact social groups that advocate against child exploitation and promote protection. Denma’s statement read, ” As much as I would sometimes like to provoke a thought through my work, I would NEVER have an intention to do that with such an awful subject as child abuse that I condemn. Period.”
Kim Kardashian’s relationship with Balenciaga
Kim Kardashian had walked in the Balenciaga couture runway show in July of 2022. She had even donned Balenciaga from head to toe at the Met Gala. Her husband, Kanye West had had a previously rickety but long-standing relationship with the luxury brand. However, on a Twitter thread, she admitted that she had been “re-evaluating her relationship”.
“The safety of children must be held with the highest regard and any attempts to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society — period,” she tweeted at the time. Kardashian added that any decision to reengage with Balenciaga in the future would be based on “their willingness to accept accountability for something that should have never happened to begin with — & the actions I am expecting to see them take to protect children.” “I appreciate Balenciaga’s removal of the campaigns and apology. In speaking with them, I believe they understand the seriousness of the issue and will take the necessary measures for this to never happen again,” she continued.
However, this brief break ended when the mother of four was spotted in Japan week where she could be seen rocking a number of pieces from the controversial brand.
What is Balenciaga?
Balenciaga is a Paris-based luxury fashion house owned by the French conglomerate Kering who also owns brands like Gucci and Saint Laurent. It was founded in 1919 by the Spanish couturier Cristobal Balenciaga in San Sebastian, Spain. Its attempt at the 2022 holiday campaign was described to be a method of shockvertising (shock-advertising), meant to garner all the positive and negative attention it got. This claim was given by Carl W Jones from the School of Media and Communication, at the University of Westminster.
Post controversy, many celebrities sold off their Balenciaga items and took to Instagram to announce it. The sales dipped and outraged influencers took to social media to destroy their articles.
However, there is no doubt that the Balenciaga and Kim Kardashian partnership has undoubtedly regenerated buzz and sales for the company, gaining them back some of their most popular influencers!
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