Luxury fashion brand Balenciaga is facing heavy backlash after the release of its new collection “Balenciaga Gift Shop”, which was accompanied by extremely controversial advertisements on Nov. 16. 

Balenciaga is known specifically for pushing artistic boundaries with unique styles of shoes and handbags. This most recent marketing scandal has caused a huge media storm due to its alleged sexual exploitation of children. The photoshoot for the collection featured two ads: one including children holding handbags that looked like teddy bears wearing inappropriate clothing.

“The other, even stranger, included a pile of legal documents, one of which included the text of a Supreme Court decision related to child pornography.” according to Glossy.

Almost immediately, thousands of people voiced their anger and spoke out against the ad. The image was quickly removed from all media platforms, and Balenciaga issued an apology to address the controversy six days later. 

“We take this matter very seriously and are taking legal action against the parties responsible for creating the set and including unapproved items for our Spring 23 campaign photo shoot.” Balenciaga said on their Instagram.  

Many celebrities also spoke out against the brand, including Tucker Carlson, Bethenny Frankel, and, most notably, Kim Kardashian who has collaborated with the brand throughout her career

“As a mother of four, I have been shaken by the disturbing images,” Kardashian wrote on Twitter. “The safety of children must be held with the highest regard and any attempts to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society — period.”

However, Balenciaga claims that they were unaware of what was going on in their Spring 2023 campaign, which is one of their biggest yearly collections. In response they issued a lawsuit against the production company, North Six, and “Gift Shop” set designer, Nicholas Des Jardins. 

“As a result of [North Six]’s misconduct, members of the public, including the news media, have falsely and horrifically associated Balenciaga with the repulsive and deeply disturbing subject of the court decision,” the court document reads.

The company originally planned to seek $25 million in damages; yet, on Dec. 2, a week after the initial court filing, the company announced they were no longer taking legal action. 

“Other social media users are viewing the lawsuit as an attempt to place blame elsewhere, which is only reigniting public interest in seeing the ads in the meantime.” according to the New York Times. 

Regardless of which party the final penalty is given too, this photoshoot, from its planning to its execution, was far too inappropriate to be passed off as an artistic statement. Balenciaga’s exploitation of children, using them as a prop in their advertisement, is a moral misstep that shouldn’t be considered lightly.