The French fashion brand Balenciaga had to apologize on Tuesday for a recent advertising campaign with young children holding teddy bear purses in BDSM outfits.. Balenciaga Bruised Face .“We sincerely apologize for any offence our holiday campaign may have caused,” said Balenciaga on Instagram. .“Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms.”.In October, Balenciaga did a runway show to launch the line of BDSM handbags, with models walking the catwalk with bloody noses and bruised faces while carrying the handbags..The new BDSM bags have teddy bears wearing fishnet tops, metal studded leather harnesses, and collars with locks. .Freedom Forever founder Landon Starbuck called it “absolutely demonic,” as her non-profit fights to protect children from abuse, sex trafficking, and exploitation..“Balenciaga is fetishizing children by having them model with sexual BDSM paraphernalia,” said Starbuck on Twitter. .“They’re participating in a bigger campaign making it fashionable to destroy the innocence of children.”.Photographer Hoop gave a suggestion to his fellow photographers on Twitter that if you show up at a photo shoot and it involves kids and bondage gear, you leave. .“When Balenciaga hires you to shoot their new lookbook 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,” said Hoop on Twitter..The campaign photographer is Gabriele Galimberti, who went on Twitter to issue a “statement” they only hired him to take the photos and did not “direct” the campaign..Galimberti tweeted he had “no connection with the photo where a Supreme Court document appears. That one was taken in another set by other people and was falsely associated with my photos.”.The Supreme Court document Galimberti references is a 2008 US Supreme Court opinion that increased the penalties for child sexual abuse and exploitation under federal law.. Balenciaga Child Holding BDSM Teddy Bear .Balenciaga also apologized for the court documents in the photos..“We apologize for displaying unsettling documents in our campaign,” said Balenciaga. .“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 photo shoot.”.“We strongly condemn the abuse of children in any form. We stand for children safety and well-being.”.Starbuck wants full accountability for this BDSM ad campaign involving children as it cannot be just a “mere oversight.”.“We’re calling not just on Balenciaga, but on their parent group Kering to provide the public with appropriate accountability,” said Starbuck. .“The scope and seriousness of these images can’t be reduced to a mere oversight issue or to a set design flaw. We demand every person involved in these horrible decisions, from conception to fruition, be held accountable, fired, and named so potential future employers know to never allow them to work with children again.”
