Balenciaga under scrutiny over ‘creepy’ ads featuring children

Luxury brand Balenciaga is slammed online for displaying two little girls holding stuffed animals in what seem to be ‘bondage outfits.’ It is part of their current advertisements. Social media users find it a bit odd and horrifying.

The fashion label was famous for its daring fashion statements. Famous personalities like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are often associated with Balenciaga. Although the French brand is also one of the other companies that had cut ties with “Ye.” Same as how Adidas and Gap had ended their relationship with the rapper after having his antisemitic controversies.

This is absolutely disgusting. Balenciaga features toddlers in ads, holding teddy bears in bondage outfits and with a court document about “child porn” partially hidden in the image.

This is criminal & sick. Sexualizing children must be a redline. @KimKardashian – speak out now. pic.twitter.com/lNIdywunlY

— Lila Rose (@LilaGraceRose) November 22, 2022

With its new advertisement, Balenciaga had dared to showcase some photos that many find disturbing. In one of the images, a brunette girl wearing a blue outfit is holding a purple stuffed toy and wearing what seems to be BDSM attire. While the other image showed a ginger-haired girl wearing the brand’s T-shirt is also holding a plush toy with bondage attire.

Major luxury brand Balenciaga ads seek to normalize child pornography. https://t.co/xBLAZe0Wts

— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) November 22, 2022

After the images circulated online, online users scrutinized Balenciaga for featuring children holding animals dressed in bondage attires. Social media users and online shoppers labeled the images as “creepy,” “frightening,” and “wrong.”

Social Media users slammed Balenciaga

One social media user tweeted, “I thought people were trolling, but nope. It’s real. Maybe this is why Balenciaga left Twitter. Yes, these are children holding teddy bears dressed in bondage outfits.”  Some social media users also said the same advertising showed a court document depicting child pornography.

the brand "Balenciaga" just did a uh….. interesting… photoshoot for their new products recently which included a very purposely poorly hidden court document about 'virtual child porn'

normal stuff pic.twitter.com/zjMN5WhZ0s

— shoe (@shoe0nhead) November 21, 2022

In addition, YouTuber ShoeOnHead, also popular as June Lapine, also noticed the document and tweeted about it. “The brand ‘Balenciaga’ just did a uh … interesting … photo-shoot for their new products recently, which included a very purposely poorly hidden court document about ‘virtual child porn,’ normal stuff.”

The New York Post also reported and zoomed in on the image of the document. The report said it was a document from Ashcroft v Free Speech Coalition. A 2002 US Supreme Court case banned “virtual” child pornography. Furthermore, Balenciaga didn’t comment when the NY post requested a response.

Since the news circulated, Balenciaga’s Instagram page has cleared all the posts. But the brand is also popular for cleaning its social media whenever it drops new content. The brand’s Instagram page now displays new photos of the Spring 23 campaign.