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- Balenciaga has removed their holiday campaign which saw children holding teddy bears dressed in bondage.
- The fashion house wiped their social media accounts and apologised for the ad saying they condemn the "abuse of children in any form".
- Frequent collaborator, Kim Kardashian, has since slammed Balenciaga's campaign saying she is "disgusted and outraged" and "re-evaluating [her] relationship with the brand".
Kim Kardashian is "disgusted and outraged" by Balenciaga's latest ad campaign, which sees children holding teddy bears dressed in bondage.
"I have been quiet for the past few days, not because I haven't been disgusted and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns, but because I wanted an opportunity to speak to their team to understand for myself how this could have happened," the Skims founder said on Twitter on Sunday.
"As a mother of four, I have been shaken by the disturbing images. The safety of children must be held with the highest regard and any attempts to normalise child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society — period," she added.
Kardashian's comments come following increased pressure from fans to speak out after she was seen wearing a Balenciaga and Adidas shirt – and visiting a detention centre with Tristan Thompson over Thanksgiving.
"Would like to see a comment about balenciaga before seeing this. Your silence on this is topic deafening, [sic]" one Instagram user wrote.
The star, who has frequently collaborated with the fashion house over the past few months and years in particular, with them designing her faceless 2021 Met Gala look, said she "appreciate[s] Balenciaga's removal of the campaigns and apology" and at present is "re-evaluating [her] relationship with the brand".
As for my future with Balenciaga, I am currently re-evaluating my relationship with the brand, basing it off their willingness to accept accountability for something that should have never happened to begin with — & the actions I am expecting to see them take to protect children.
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) November 28, 2022
Balenciaga not only removed the campaign, which also included documents referencing a Supreme Court ruling that upheld a law that criminalises child sexual abuse images, but cleared their social media completely before issuing an apology.
"We sincerely apologise for any offence our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign," the fashion house said, per People, adding they condemn the "abuse of children in any form".
The holiday campaign came shortly after Balenciaga came under fire for its affiliation with Kanye West, who is thought to have introduced or at least encouraged his ex-wife's collaboration with the brand, being a frequent collaborator himself. Balenciaga supposedly severed ties with the rapper after his recent racist and antisemitic sentiments.
He was, however, seen toting his Balenciaga merchandise for his 2024 presidential run.
