Accustomed to the blows of com ', Balenciaga faces this time the hard blow.
After making headlines for its most expensive garbage bag in the world, tattered sneakers, or even a pouch in the shape of a packet of crisps - the label finds itself in unprecedented turmoil.
The luxury brand, which belongs to the Kering group, has suffered a wave of indignation and boycott following the publication of advertising campaigns pinned down by the American far right.
The affair broke out with a series of photos unveiled on November 16, signed Gabriele Galimbreti, a documentary photographer known for staging his subjects with their personal effects.
For Balenciaga's
Objects
line , the Italian immortalizes children surrounded by the brand's accessories, including bags in the shape of teddy bears dressed in straps, harnesses and chokers evoking the sadomasochistic fetish aesthetic. .
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Balenciaga's Christmas campaign, the starting point of an unprecedented controversy.
(November 2022.) Balenciaga
The campaign is pinned a few days later on Twitter.
First, by American anti-feminist YouTuber June Nicole Lapine (1.6 million subscribers), known as Shoe On Head, describing herself as a “populist bimbo”.
On November 21, she tweeted: “The Balenciaga brand just did a hum...interesting photoshoot...which included a very intentionally poorly concealed court document on 'virtual child pornography'.
Normal...".
All illustrated by the photos of the Objects
advertisement .
But the youtuber also refers to another series featuring the Balenciaga x Adidas collection.
The publication is quick to set fire to the powder.
In video, the Spring-Summer 2023 Balenciaga fashion show
The subject of child crime in question
Childhood and the BDSM universe: the association is a stain.
Quickly, details of the other campaign, Balenciaga x Adidas, published a few days earlier, on November 9, make the affair gain momentum.
The Hourglass bag is presented on a desk, placed on a mess of documents.
One of them happens to be the record of a 2008 US Supreme Court decision on child pornography.
It rules that the speech of an individual claiming to be in possession of child pornography does not come within the scope of freedom of expression.
According to the brand, these documents, chosen to recreate a law firm scenography, come from the filming of a television series.
In the same campaign, another element appeals to a few internet users determined to hunt down all the clues that would incriminate the brand: a diploma framed in the background, in the name of John Phillip Fisher.
This name appears in the legal section of a local Michigan newspaper.
The man, charged with seven criminal sex offenses in 2008, was convicted of incest, the article reports.
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In the Garde-Robe campaign, Isabelle Huppert poses next to a book by artist Micheal Borremann, a detail that stirs up controversy.
Balenciaga
From controversy to politics
On November 21, Balenciaga unveiled a third campaign,
Garde-Robe
, which is in line with the previous one produced to present the collection with Adidas.
This uses the same office decor and features one of the house muses, Isabelle Huppert (in addition to actress Nicole Kidman and model Bella Hadid).
In the background of the portrait of the French actress, Internet users point to a new detail that they associate with a child pornography element: a book by the painter Michael Borremans.
The Belgian artist is the author of
Fire from the sun,
a work that depicts groups of young naked children "indulging in acts with sinister connotations", in the words of the David Zwirner gallery who created it. exhibited in the past.
Pinned on social networks, the campaigns are also taken up by the media, including
Fox News
.
The American pro-Trump channel has helped popularize QAnon conspiracy theories that Democratic Party elites are at the head of a pedophile ring.
In his November 23 show, presenter Tucker Carlson presents Balenciaga as a possible actor in this plot, and accuses it of encouraging child pornography.
Right of reply
On November 24, a week after the release of its
Objects
campaign , the brand apologized in an Instagram story.
“Our teddy bear bags should not have been associated with children,” concedes Balenciaga, which announces that it will remove the visuals from all its platforms.
In the process, she published another apologetic press release, concerning the
Garde-Robe
campaign , this time pointing to the responsibility of a third party.
“We take this matter very seriously and are taking legal action against the parties responsible for creating the set and including unapproved elements for our Spring 23 campaign photoshoot,” the brand posted on its account. Instagram.
Words were quickly followed by deeds, with a lawsuit brought against production company North Six and set designer Nicholas Des Jardins, in charge of the decorative elements of the photo series.
The brand points to “malicious or, at the very least, extraordinarily reckless” acts on the part of the production and the American who counts among his clients Zara, Versace or even Beyoncé.
And claims 25 million euros in damages in compensation.
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The Hourglass Adidas bag rests on a record of a 2008 United States Supreme Court decision regarding the distribution of child pornography.
Balenciaga
Chain reactions
But Balenciaga faces an unprecedented wave of outrage.
On Tiktok, users film themselves burning their coins.
The #BoycottBalenciaga hashtag quickly reached nearly 50 million views, as did #CancelBalenciaga.
The face of the label, Kim Kardashian speaks on November 27, declaring to her 334 million subscribers in a story on Instagram: "I have been silent for the past few days, not because I have not been disgusted and indignant by Balenciaga's recent campaigns, but because I wanted to have the opportunity to talk to their team to understand for myself how this could have happened".
And to conclude that she is reassessing her “relationships” with the brand.
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In the background of the Balenciaga x Adidas campaign is a diploma in the name of John Phillip Fisher, convicted of incest in 2008. (November 2022.) Balenciaga
Balenciaga is vilified, but the various actors of these campaigns are also expected at the turn.
If Bella Hadid deleted her photo from her networks, Isabelle Huppert and Nicole Kidman, they did not show up.
A silence that earned them to be challenged on social networks, especially in the comments of their last respective Instagram posts.
Photographer Gabriele Galimberti said he was forced to publish an official statement disclaiming all responsibility for Balenciaga's choices: "I am not in a position to comment on the brand's choices, but I must emphasize that I had no not have the right in any way whatsoever to choose the products, models or their combination”.
Monday, November 28, the boycott took a new turn, with the announcement of Business of Fashion, a reference site for B2B journalism in the fashion industry.
The media declares to withdraw from Demna, artistic director of Balenciaga, the Global Voices prize, which was awarded to him earlier in the year.
And specifies that he offered the creator a chance to explain himself on his
Voices
podcast .
An invitation declined.
Despite everything, some voices are raised to defend the claw.
Convicted unanimously?
This is the case of the father of one of the children who poses in the
Objects
campaign alongside the famous bear cubs.
The man, who speaks anonymously on Mail Online, claims he was present at the shoot, calling it a "pleasant moment".
"No parent would encourage their child to take part in pornographic activity, and I think the publicity around what happened has gone way overboard," he said.
As for fashion commentators, influencer Luke Meagher with 242,000 subscribers on Instagram also tempers the debate: “Balenciaga's advertisements are bad, stupid and should not have been made and published.
But that far-right pundits are jumping on this case also makes me think.
I don't think they really care about the kids and their well-being.
I think they are only concerned with creating a climate of fear,” he posted on November 29.
On the side of Balenciaga, the strategy is moving towards silence since the release of its various press releases on the subject.
