Balenciaga Issues An Apology After A ‘Disturbing’ Campaign With Children And ‘Bondage’ Teddies

Luxury fashion brand Balenciaga has recently received quite some backlash over an ad campaign. They have formally issued an apology about the images that featured children holding teddy bears dressed in bondage gear on Tuesday. The fashion brand posted a statement on its Instagram story that read, “We apologize for displaying unsettling documents in our campaign. 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. We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms.”

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The ad campaign was not well-received by social media users. They called the images featuring young girls and bondage-themed toys as “inappropriate” and “disturbing”. It was posted earlier on the official Balenciaga website, this week to promote the fashion brand’s holiday gift shop. In the snaps used, children were seen posing along with stuffed teddy bears in bondage gear. This included fishnet tops, collars with lock and ankle and wrist restraints, reported NDTV.

Social media users were infuriated over the entire situation that unfolded. Several Twitter users expressed what they felt about the situation. Many were not happy with the apology. A Twitter user wrote, “Hey photographers, when Balenciaga hires you to shoot their new look book and you show up to find a toddler laid across a sofa with wine glasses and bondage gear arranged around them, you walk away. Period.”

The recent campaign was titled ‘Toy Stories’ and the teddy bear handbags featured in it were from the Paris Fashion Week spring/summer 2023 collection.

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