WTF Balenciaga

yourdeadwright

What is going on with Balenciaga new add campaign ,

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/balenciaga-plush-bear-bag-holiday-campaign-b2231068.html

How in the world did they think they could get away with stuff like that,

They have came out & apologised but surely they need to explain why the f*ck they thought this was ok ?

How many people had to sign that off ? & why did they think it was ok ?

EmmetSpiceland

I’m surprised they didn’t get away with it. I was told before that I was “being dramatic” when I raised concerns about an LOL Doll that was given to one of my children at their birthday party.

The little doll had fishnet stockings and looked like a baby. When you hear all the stuff that’s coming out about what was going on at Nickelodeon in the 00’s it hard not to say that “big business” has been sexualising kids for years.

Luxembourgo

This is a genuinely mental story. How are they getting away without an explanation?

The trend towards the sexualisation of children is appalling

xzanti

It's pretty sickening. I believe it's the tip of the iceberg.

timmyntc

The worst part is those court documents chosen deliberately for the display - there is no other way to interpret those. They cannot simply apologise and say "whoops we didnt think people would take it like that"

How tf else are you supposed to interpret that?

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119930402#Comment_119930402

I can't understand why nobody has made them explain them,

xzanti

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119930431#Comment_119930431

The silence around the whole saga is deafening.

Gregor Samsa

They're suing the advertising agency and set designer responsible for the Spring 2023 campaign that included the page from the US Supreme Court documents.

https://www.thefashionlaw.com/balenciaga-wages-25-million-lawsuit-over-controversial-ad-campaign/

I guess one could argue that they weren't aware of it themselves, since it is somewhat obscure in the photo, despite being clearly a very deliberate action by whoever put it there:

But they very clearly signed off on the very obviously inappropriate bondage teddy.

Jequ0n

Lol, the court document reference. I’d love to know what briefing the advertising company had received.

Gregor Samsa

From that article I posted above, the set dresser's agent claims that all the documents used as props in the shoot “were obtained from a prop house that were rental pieces used [for] photo shoots." I guess next the prop house will be claiming that an employee randomly found them on the street. Then the employee will be claiming that he's illiterate and blind, and just tripped over the pile not knowing what they were.

Ultimately, multiple people in Balenciaga would have signed off on the specific images, so they'll have a hard time blaming anyone else, and sign-off on a campaign like that for a brand like that wouldn't be just a case of "yeah, that's fine".

timmyntc

The story keeps on going

Some of Balenciagas most prominent designers have some.. disturbing stuff going on. Looking more and more like this kind of thing is more design choice and less accident for the brand

https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/who-lotta-volkova-balenciaga-designer-private-instagram-pictures-sparks-outrage-online

xzanti

bUt iT's jUsT aRt

JupiterKid

Very disturbing and concerning stuff on the part of Balenciaga.

Sexualisation of children and girls (and it seems to be mainly girls) is wrong on every level - back in the 2000s there was a controversy over glittery t-shirts for small girls entitled "porn star in training"....WTF??

The entire fashion industry is up its own arse and full of self-serving, false people utterly detached from reality.

Jequ0n

These people should be free to have whatever they want on their personal social media sites. Fine if people want to object to the campaign, but their personal stuff should be left alone.

MyLove4Satan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119940004#Comment_119940004

this reply gives me the creeps...

xzanti

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119940092#Comment_119940092

My sentiments exactly. WTF.

I agree it is a kite flying exercise. Although a lot of similar content has gone under the radar in the past as it's chalked up to "Art".

Wibbs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119930977#Comment_119930977

Even if the advertising agency went rogue as per their bullshít excuse looking for a scapegoat, I can guarantee a company of that size especially one so incredibly image conscious(for pure monetary reasons) controls that image aggressively. These campaigns don't just happen or are one man bands. They pass through many hands at the top levels of that company. The brief was poured over and passed long before the lights and cameras ever showed up and on the day of the shoot their reps were there throughout.

Post shoot a lot of eyes poured over these images picking and choosing the best shots for publication. Yet at no point did any of them say "Hang on, kids hugging gimped up teddy bears WTF?".

So let's imagine the court docs "slipped under the radar", the children holding teddy bears in bondage/fetish gear almost certainly did not and was a choice of Balenciaga.

I remember reading something years ago. I think it was Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac who was asked about the excesses of rock and roll. Her answer was that while rock had a bad rep, she never felt as objectified or surrounded by nearly as many real weirdos in music as she had around Hollywood and fashion bigwigs.

silverharp

they have had plenty of time to give the innocent explanation, as they havnt given one, silence implies guilt.

MyLove4Satan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119930503#Comment_119930503

the same Woke Progressives who doxxed and destroyed the lives of anyone they deemed 'Far Right' or 'Racist/Fascist' based on half-nothing evidence, are now demanding the Balenciaga creeps be given privacy and dignity as nothing has been proven...

The double standards are sickening.

NSAman

Makes you wonder if Kayne was purely lucky on the timing.... or knew something was about to happen.

Personally, Balenciaga is something I would never buy. Seeing kids on planes wearing 600 dollar trainers while mammy wears stupid "clothing" emblazoned with the logo... its not fashion, its following.

buried

How the f**k could some materialistic fashion trend $hitbag merchant be blamed for anything, this makes no sense

yourdeadwright

Nothing makes you look cheaper than expensive designer brand with huge logo all over them ,

DrumSteve

I think it says a lot of about that industry in general that many people within that company signed off on this and saw noting wrong with it.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119940004#Comment_119940004

If I seen something like that on a personal page, Im notifying the police,never mind reporting the post.

silverharp

At least one news guy is outraged

https://twitter.com/robsmithonline/status/1598722356847026178

TooTired123

Kim Kardashian divorced Ye because he wore a MAGA hat, but she’s needing some time to think about wether she’s going to walk away from Balenciaga.

Just let that sink in.

A mother of 4 young kids sees those pictures but because she, a billionaire, has a contract with the company, she needs some time to see which way the wind is blowing. Unreal.

xzanti

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119951450#Comment_119951450

She's also good friends with Marina Abramovich. Enough said.

silverharp

talk about hiding in plain sight

https://twitter.com/Dominiquetaegon/status/1599044912376270848

Gregor Samsa

^ that sculpture of the toddler with the penis sticking out of its face and the open mouth is by British duo Jake and Dinos Chapman.

Jake Chapman once described their art as “a good social service like the children who killed Jamie Bulger.”

https://entertainment.time.com/2007/02/09/brits_behaving_badly_1/

Jequ0n

Good to see that the Twitter mob has another cause to post videos of themselves burning stuff. All so predictable.

Gregor Samsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119952777#Comment_119952777

But you think people’s private social media feeds should be off limits from criticism:

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119940004#Comment_119940004

Be strange if that only applied to images depicting the sexualisation of children, and not opposition to it

Count Dracula

Which came first the Teddy or the Black Leather Gear?

If you go down to the woods today you better go in disguise, If you go down to the woods today you better not colour your eyes, for every Teddy Bear that ever their was, will gather there today because ...

Today's the day the Teddy Bears have their .........

Orgasm time for Teddy Bears, they love to scream and shout and cover each other with Looo bre cant..... watch them catch VD or the Clap .... with their bondage whips and chains and clamps...

" TAXI "

Sex is meant to be enjoyable, it is constantly being waved around by kill joys. Children just see a Teddy dressed like a pirate. That is all.

Predatory sexual deviance should not be found subliminally in advertisement campaigns, total click bait. Who are Balencia anyway? They sound like Spanish Handbag makers?

I used to have Barbie, Sindy, Ken and Action Man performing clusterphucks in Sindy's upstairs bedroom, everyone survived. Barbie was always going Commando, mad for it. She even slept with the six million dollar man once, in his capsule. Even my red haired Irish Action Man used to cruise around in Barbie's Pink Mercedes Benz Cabriolet, wearing one shoe and holding an M16 machine gun.

It's fine to throw Ken in the Sherman Tank with SAS man, but he better not try it on with Sindy on the stairs...

Total Publicity stunt.

Jequ0n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119953069#Comment_119953069

I had looked at the posted reactions to the tweet referenced above