Balenciaga drops its US$25 million lawsuit against production firm

Balenciaga has dropped its lawsuit against the production firm that handled the ad campaign that got Balenciaga involved in controversy. The luxury fashion house “has decided not to pursue litigation,” stated on its official Instagram account and signed by president and CEO, Cédric Charbit, as seen by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE.

The moves were taken shortly after creative director of Balenciaga, Demna, apologised on Instagram for the controversial teddy bear campaign, “I want to personally apologise for the wrong artistic choice of concept for the gifting campaign with the kids and I take responsibility. It was inappropriate to have kids promote objects that had nothing to do with them.”

He added that as much as he would occasionally like “to provoke a thought” through his work, he would “never have an intention to do that with such an awful subject as child abuse that” he condemn.

A week ago, Balenciaga filed a US$25 million lawsuit against the production companies involved in its ad campaign. The papers were submitted against the defendants, set designer Nicholas Des Jardins, his company of the same name and North Six Inc.

In the lawsuit, the brand said that the “defendants inexplicable acts and omissions were malevolent or, at the very least, extraordinarily reckless”. It added that because of their 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”. As such, the defendants are liable to Balenciaga for all harm resulting from this false association.

The fashion house also said that it has nominated an image board who will be “responsible for evaluating the nature” of its content from concept to final assets, including legal sustainability and diverse expertise. In addition to that, it has also appointed an “agency to assess and evaluate” its content. Balenciaga also added that it has set aside a “significant fund for grants to organisations” to “help make a difference in protecting children".

Recently, Balenciaga ambassador Kim Kardashian broke her silence on the Balenciaga campaigns and said that she is “re-evaluating” her future with the brand and their relationship.

The celebrity, who was one of the cast of  Balenciaga’s couture fashion show in July, explained on social media that she was quiet, not because she hasn’t “been disgusted and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns”, but because she wanted to “speak to their team to understand how this could have happened”.  

She also added that on speaking with the fashion brand, she believes that it understands the seriousness of the issue and will take the necessary measures for this to never happen again.

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