Balenciaga scandal - update: Fashion brand issues apology after furious reaction to ad campaigns

Balenciaga has issued a statement “strongly condemning child abuse” while addressing the fallout over its controversial ad campaigns involving children.

On Monday, the fashion house shared a new statement to Instagram in which it stated it “would like to address the controversies surrounding our recent ad campaigns”.

Balenciaga has faced widespread backlash over two recent ad campaigns involving children. One of the ads, the designer’s gift collection campaign, featured children posing with the brand’s teddy bear purses, which critics pointed out appear to be wearing BDSM and bondage-inspired accessories.

The second ad under scrutiny is Balenciaga’s Spring 2023 campaign, for its use of a printout of a Supreme Court decision on child pornography.

In the post, the designer brand wrote: “We strongly condemn child abuse; it was never our intent to include it in our narrative.

“The two separate ad campaigns in question reflect a series of grievous errors for which Balenciaga takes responsibility.”

Stay tuned for the latest updates.

What happened and why is the designer label apologising?

20:04 , Oliver O'Connell

Balenciaga has apologised after backlash over a recent ad campaign, which featured children holding teddy bears dressed in bondage gear and an image of a Supreme Court opinion on a child pornography case.

On Tuesday, the Spanish fashion label issued a statement to its Instagram story. “We sincerely apologise for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused,” the statement read. “Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms.”

Meredith Clark reports.

Balenciaga apologises for children’s campaign featuring ‘bondage’ teddy bears