The scandal over publicity photos with children for which Balenciaga had to apologize

the fashion house Balenciaga has been widely criticized for publicity photos showing child models posing with fetish-themed teddy bears, which have been described as “indecent”.

The publication on social networks of the images -which are part of a campaign to promote their range objects– unleashed a wave of criticism.

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The huge controversy made the reality TV star kim kardashianwho is an ambassador for the brand, issued a statement in this regard.

Balenciaga deleted the images and assured that it is taking action against those responsible for the images.

The pictures

Balenciaga It is considered one of the most popular fashion brands in the world and its luxury items are favorites of celebrities and influencers.

But the photos from two of his latest campaigns made many angry.

The first was a series of images showing child models posing with stuffed toy bags. Balenciaga.

In the pictures the bears appear to be wearing leather harnesses and other items associated with the sexual practice of bondage.

Two of the images showed young children hugging the backpacks.

The photo shoot was for Balenciaga’s latest Objects range, which includes high-end pet supplies. (BALENCIAGA.COM).

The focus then turned to a second image from a previous campaign promoting Balenciaga’s collaboration with Adidas.

One of the images showed a bag on top of some documents.

When people zoomed in on the text, they saw that the documents were from a US Supreme Court ruling related to indecent images of children.

The reaction

Balenciaga began posting the images on his social networks on November 16.

They quickly went viral, especially in the US, where many accused the brand of “hypersexualize” young children.

As criticism mounted, a sarcastic tweet from YouTuber June Nicole Lapine gained a lot of traction, and Balenciaga deleted all the images shortly after.

Following this, some right-wing American media outlets published the story and accused the fashion house of “endorse child pornography”.

GETTY IMAGES.

Apologies

Balenciaga apologized to his 14 million Instagram followers, saying the teddy bear bags “should not have been presented with children.”

He said he had withdrawn the items from sale and removed the images from all platforms.

The photographer Gabriele Galimberti, responsible for the images, also issued a statement.

The photos were supposed to mimic his well-known series of images titled “Toy Stories,” which featured children from all over the world posing with their favorite things, he said.

The photographer claimed that had no control over the models or products used in the Balenciaga photos and said they were not explicit.

Balenciaga has also apologized for showing “disturbing documents” in the Adidas collaboration campaign.

He said he was taking legal action against the people he hired to produce the images for including “unapproved items”.

Gabriele Galimberti also pointed out that he did not participate in the Adidas photo shoot.

Kim Kardashian’s response

Kim Kardashian was also criticized for the images, or rather, for keeping silent about it.

The reality star is an ambassador for the brand, but did not comment on the scandal until Sunday.

On Instagram and Twitter, she said she was “shocked by the disturbing images” and that “any attempt to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society, period.”

Kardashian is a brand ambassador. (GETTY IMAGES).

He assured that his silence was not due to a lack of indignation, but because I wanted to talk to Balenciaga to “understand for myself how this could have happened.”

He praised the brand for removing the campaigns and apologizing, though he said he was “reevaluating” his relationship with the company.

But he told his followers that he believed the brand understood the seriousness of the problem and would take steps to make sure it “never happens again.”

Source: Elcomercio