Balenciaga criticized for children's clothing ad with S&M hints

Balenciaga received backlash for its bondage and S&M-inspired children's clothing line, and celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Bella Hadid are being criticized for their connection to the company.

The luxury fashion brand released ads for its spring 2023 collection. The photos showed children clutching teddy bears dressed in S&M clothing, and quickly began to go viral. Almost immediately, people responded with outrage on social media, demanding a boycott of the company.

Balenciaga executives quickly pulled all ads on Tuesday and issued an apology. 

"We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our teddy bear bags should not have appeared with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms," their statement read.

The executives went on to say that they plan to take legal action against the creators of the ads, which they claim "were not approved." 

"We strongly condemn child abuse in any form. We stand up for the safety and well-being of children," they added. 

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

However, social media users were still upset and criticized celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Bella Hadid for their association with the company. Kim is the founder of SKIMS, which has long worked with Balenciaga. Bella is one of Balenciaga's supermodels.

"When are you going to respond, Kim? Your reputation is on the line here," a fan wrote. 

"Celebrities like Bella Hadid are quick to jump on the BLM and gender confusion bandwagon, but are happy to promote Balenciaga's child pornography campaign. These people have been compromised, are satanic, and are promoting the devil's work. It's evil," another social media user said. 

Apparently, in response, Bella deleted her latest Balenciaga ad campaign from her Instagram but has yet to comment on it. Kim K has also remained silent.