Fetish teddy bears and disturbing documents: why did Balenciaga withdraw its last two campaigns (apologizing)?

It was supposed to be a Christmas campaign dedicated to Demna’s favorite objects, the creative director of the Balenciaga maison. Yet, it ended up being anything but: a scandal complete with a public apology and a stand against pedophilia. The evaluation error (also read: horror) actually exists, and it raises quite a few criticisms with respect to the passages of the insiders behind the scenes: how is it possible that no one has noticed anything?

It all started with i Teddy bear in the shape of a teddy bear style clothes bondage, a word that the Treccani dictionary defines exactly as follows: «Sexual practice consisting in tying or immobilizing the partner, consenting». Everything got worse with the association of these same Teddy bear to the world of childhood: what were two little girls doing with teddy bears fetish in your hands, in the countryside Balenciaga Objects?

Shot by Gabriele Galimberti, presented by the brand as a photographer often involved in projects that see him at work with the eccentricities of everyday life, the campaign features dozens and dozens of objects conceived as Christmas giftsgoing to complete the photographic series Toy Stories by the artist himself: «An exploration of what people collect and receive as gifts», reads the official press release. Let the idea be sold however one wishes, the fact is that the people of Twitter – the social platform just recently abandoned by Balenciaga (apparently due to Elon Musk) – were not indulgent: «I thought people were joking, but no . Maybe that’s why Balenciaga left Twitter. They don’t want to be accused. Yes, these little girls hold teddy bears dressed in stylish looks in their hands bondage» one user tweeted.

The controversy does not end there. About two weeks before the launch of Balenciaga Objects, the fashion house directed by Dmena had also disclosed the campaign of collection Balenciaga / adidas for the Spring-Summer 2023 season, to which the model Bella Hadid and the actress Isabelle Huppert also lent their faces. Taken in the New York Stock Exchange offices by photographer Chris Maggio, the images were further subject to controversy.

Hand zoom, the authoritative social profile Diet Prada brought to light further references to the world of pedophilia. Among documents scattered everywhere in the apocalyptic clutter of the office, right under an iconic Hourglass bag by Balenciaga, appears the excerpt of a 2008 sentence which, as the source reports, reaffirms «the promotion or publicity of child pornography as a federal crime protected by free speech”. Furthermore, an art book by Michael Borremeans was included in the setting in which Isabelle Huppert poses. «Her work – he writes Diet Prada – features naked children and adults engaged in acts of violence, including cannibalism.

In light of all this, an infinite number of questions follow: where were the insiders? Who approved those documents? Who chose them? And where was Demna, a designer who has always sided with human rights? Apologies were not long in coming. “We sincerely apologize for any offense our Christmas campaign may have caused,” Demna wrote on Instagram. – Our Teddy bear in the shape of a teddy bear should not have been presented next to children in this campaign. We immediately removed the campaign from all of our platforms.”

Apologies signed by Demna also for the campaign Balenciaga / adidas: «We apologize for displaying disturbing documents in our campaign. We care about this issue and will take legal action against the parties responsible for creating the set by including unapproved items in our Spring-Summer 2023 campaign. We strongly condemn child abuse in any form. We stand up for the welfare and safety of children.”

Who will have to respond to the legal measures is yet to be discovered. Meanwhile, Gabriele Galimberti, who took the shot Balenciaga Objectsmade the following statement to Newsweek: «I’m not in a position to comment on Balenciaga’s choices, but I must point out that I was absolutely not involved in the choice of products, models (girls, ed) nor of their own association”.