In an advertising campaign, the luxury label Balenciaga showed children posing with cuddly toys in bondage clothing, causing a scandal. Creative director Demna Gvasalia has been silent for a long time – now the 41-year-old takes a stand.
Provocation is part of the business, but in the eyes of many, the luxury label Balenciaga has crossed a line with two current campaigns. For a Christmas campaign, the Spanish-French fashion house had children photographed posing with stuffed animals in bondage clothing. In addition, original court documents from the Supreme Court on the subject of child pornography could be seen in advertising motifs for the upcoming spring/summer collection.
In the meantime, the fashion group has withdrawn both campaigns and publicly asked for forgiveness. Now Demna Gvasalia has also commented on the scandal. The Georgian has been creative director since 2015 and helped the fashion house founded by Cristóbal Balenciaga in 1919 to new success.
Balenciaga Creative Director Demna Gvasalia comments on Instagram
“I would like to personally apologize and accept responsibility for the wrong artistic choice of the concept of the gifts campaign with the children. It was inappropriate to have children promote objects that had nothing to do with them. As much as I sometimes get through If my work is thought provoking, I would never do that with a topic as horrifying as child abuse, I deeply condemn it,” the 41-year-old wrote in a post on Instagram.
He wants to learn from his mistakes and get in touch with child protection organizations “to find out how I can contribute and help on this terrible issue,” Gvasalia continued. Balenciaga made a similar statement in his letter of apology. The fashion group announced that it would be working with institutions committed to fighting child abuse and exploitation in the future. The organizations should also be supported financially. A generous fund has been set up for this purpose, said CEO Cédric Charbit.
Balenciaga drops lawsuit against set designer and production company
Balenciaga also dropped its $25 million lawsuit against set designer Nicholas Des Jardins and production company North Six. Both had been hired to direct the spring-summer campaign. The fashion house claimed that the photos then showed real court documents on the subject of child pornography without Balenciaga’s knowledge. The label suffered immense damage to its image, according to the reasoning behind the initially demanded damages.
Spokesmen for Nicholas Des Jardins and North Six had immediately rejected the allegations. Neither the set designer nor the production company had final control over the shoot, Balenciaga employees alone were responsible. They would also have selected the crucial images and finally approved them for publication.
Sources: Instagram Demna, ,
Also read:
Source: Stern
I am a 24-year-old writer and journalist who has been working in the news industry for the past two years. I write primarily about market news, so if you’re looking for insights into what’s going on in the stock market or economic indicators, you’ve come to the right place. I also dabble in writing articles on lifestyle trends and pop culture news.
