What Caused The Ruckus With Balenciaga

Balenciaga and its creative director, Demna, made waves on the internet in November, but not in a good way.

The Balenciaga scandal started on November 16 and 21, respectively, two distinct campaigns for the 2022 holiday season and the Garde-Robe line of wardrobe staples for spring 2023, set off a social media firestorm that engulfed the French fashion house, photographers, creatives and even longtime partner Kim Kardashian.

How Did It Happen?

The Gift holiday campaign saw kids posing with a range of products, such as purses fashioned like plush bears decked out in shackles, which were initially promoted by adult models at the brand’s October spring 2023 show in Paris. Photographer Gabriele Galimberti, a regular contributor to National Geographic and documentary photographer, made his debut in the fashion world with this campaign, which was shot in Paris.

Meanwhile, Nicole Kidman and Isabelle Huppert were pictured in a professional environment for the spring 2023 collection ad. A page from the 2008 Supreme Court decision “United States v. Williams,” which affirmed the marketing of child pornography as unlawful and not protected by freedom of speech, can be seen in the background of one handbag photo.

Producer North Six Inc., set designer Nicolas des Jardins, and photographers Joshua Bright and Chris Maggio shot the ad in New York, producing the portraiture and still-life images respectively.

Certain media outlets and social media commentators misidentified the two campaigns and claimed that the children’s advertisements included the Supreme Court document.

Balenciaga apologised for any offence caused and removed the contentious holiday advertisement on all platforms by November 23.

More anger was generated when the corporation made subsequent attempts to clarify the issue by calling the documents “unapproved documents” and saying it had filed a complaint. This was perceived as an attempt to place the blame on outside creatives.

It was reported that the fashion firm had originally sued North Six and des Jardins for $25 million in damages.

After facing the Balenciaga scandal for several days, Balenciaga finally apologised to the public on November 28 for child abuse and accepted full responsibility for the issues surrounding the two campaigns. On November 27, Kardashian announced that she was “reevaluating” her connection with the company, saying that she was “shaken by the images.

With 373,000 followers on Instagram, Demna broke his silence on December 2nd with a post that said, “I want to personally apologise for the wrong artistic choice of concept for the gifting campaign with the kids and I take my responsibility.” Promoting things that have nothing to do with children was wrong.

The second campaign that had ignited yet another round of controversy went unmentioned by the Georgian designer.

Cédric Charbit, the president and chief executive officer of Balenciaga, also expressed his “sincere apologies for the offence we have caused” on the same day.

He committed to doing a “listening tour” with child protection organisations, outlining significant changes to the brand’s “content organisation,” and allocating “a significant fund for grants to organisations so that we can help make a difference in protecting children.”

In addition to appointing an outside “best-in-class agency to assess and evaluate its content organisation,” Charbit said Balenciaga would “learn from our mistakes as an organisation” and implement several new controls, such as an internal image board “responsible for assessing each aspect of our content from notion to final assets, such as legal, long-term viability and diversity expertise.”

“We have reorganised our image department to make certain full compliance with our corporate guidelines,” he added in his statement.

Additionally, the corporation reversed course and stopped criticising North Six and des Jardins, who had been backed by well-known artists and business experts.

However, it appears that the Balenciaga scandal harm was already done.

Balenciaga withdrew from this year’s Fashion Awards ceremony on December 5 in London, a further sign of the reaction, and Demna’s removal from the list of nominees was confirmed by the British Fashion Council.

Because of his daring, avant-garde live events and general impact on fashion, he was considered a strong contender for Designer of the Year. He was nominated alongside Jonathan Anderson for JW Anderson and Loewe, Matthieu Blazy for Bottega Veneta, Miuccia Prada, and Pierpaolo Piccioli, who took home the prize.

But how did a company that was formerly regarded as a master of nuanced communication end up in such a mess?

According to a crisis communication specialist who wished to remain anonymous, the Balenciaga scandalhappened because it ran afoul of the social media mob. After all, it neglected to take into account a larger context that included online pundits ready to speculate and point out that responses and conversation topics varied by region.

Given that “nothing is fun, everything is heavy,” Paloma Castro Martinez de Tejada, a partner at Paris-based brand strategist Darwin Associates, said that the company “should have seen this coming.”

A seasoned communications consultant named Erminia Nusswitz explained that the Garde-Robe controversy was the product of a “collective mistake” on the part of the brand and those working on the campaign. This is understandable considering the length of time and personnel involved in planning a project like this

“Balenciaga has historically [effectively] used its influence and visibility with a bit of provocation in service of a message like Demna calling out people’s inaction on climate change,” she noted, making the current situation even more unexpected.

Fashion has produced controversial imagery, and fashion brands are accustomed to altering pictures. It is intriguing but done for its own sake when this provocation is used to criticise [a condition], start a dialogue, or raise awareness.