Balenciaga ‘s macabre

Balenciaga apologized 4 days ago for the series of photos with children holding teddy bears dressed with BDSM elements to promote its “Objects” campaign. The campaign, which outraged (rightfully so) thousands of people on social media has been cancelled ad nauseam. In fact, Balenciaga has completely wiped the campaign off the map. But what’s behind this macabre move by Balenciaga? Let’s break it down.

The “Objects” campaign, under the lens of Gabriele Galimberti, was intended to be a holiday statement about giving and receiving gifts, inspired by his own “Toy Story” series of photographs. The renowned photographer captures children with their most precious objects. Obviously, being children, the objects in the photographs are toys. A priori, it’s all good, isn’t it? A Christmas campaign with children that inspires innocence and Christmas toys. Nothing could go wrong. The object of controversy? The BDSM teddy bear bag held by the children in the photos. It gets creepier when items such as champagne and wine glasses appear next to one of the girls in one photo. Items that are a far cry from being childish.

Up to this point, the issue is bizarre to say the least, but the murky, depraved and macabre part of the Balenciaga affair would come before the children’s campaign. Earlier this November, Balenciaga launched its campaign with Adidas starring Bella Hadid. The photo series captured by Chris Maggo includes a snapshot featuring Hourglass x Adidas alongside a 2008 SCOTUS ruling (United States v. Williams) upholding part of a federal child pornography law. The ruling in question deals with the issue of offering, soliciting, transferring, or trading child pornography.

Macabre, isn’t it? Especially if we take into account that these are two different campaigns, made by two different photographers. Two campaigns that have nothing to do with each other but have one thing in common: the apology to pedophilia. Balenciaga has already apologized for both campaigns and taken legal action. In the case of the x Adidas campaign, Balenciaga claims that it is an object not approved by the management. The brand has also completely deleted its instagram feed and left the apology in a few featured stories.

But are we to believe, then, that Balenciaga, one of the most important brands of the moment and one of the masters of marketing, for whatever reason, has not reviewed the photographic material before launching a campaign? We have to swallow that they have slipped in these two little tidbits of nothing… Because how many people are there working at Balenciaga to make sure everything goes according to plan?

Last Friday, Balenciaga allegedly filed the lawsuit against the production company North Six, Inc. and set designer Nicholas Des Jardins, as responsible for including the document without their consent, damaging the image of the brand. However, there is something that not only does not fit, but is hard to digest.

What is truly worrying and deplorable is that there is indeed someone working in those circles with such a perverse mind as to include a document of that caliber in a campaign of one of the most important brands on the planet. Because the BDSM bears may be open to interpretation, the SCOTUS ruling document is not. It is not something fortuitous, it is a document from 2008 that someone put there in a premeditated way.

While the ruling is being handed down, it is worth considering that the same brands (Balenciaga and Adidas) that cancelled Kanye for anti-Semitism, have just defended pedophilia in any way they can. When will the financial cancellation and legal responsibilities reach them? Will they reach them at all?