Kim Kardashian breaks silence on Balenciaga saga, re-evaluates future with brand

Mega influencer and Balenciaga ambassador Kim Kardashian has broke her silence on the recent 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 them, she believes that the brand understands the seriousness of the issue and will take the necessary measures for this to never happen again.

Meanwhile in a post last night, Balenciaga also said it takes responsibility for the “series of grievous errors” and outlined that it is closely revising the collective ways of working and reinforcing structures around its creative processes and validation steps.

“We want to ensure that new controls mark a pivot and will prevent this from happening again,” it said. The brand also said it is working with organisations which specialise in child protection.

The brand has also filed a US$25 million lawsuit against the production companies involved in its latest 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”. Balenciaga added that because of the defendant’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”. As such the defendants are liable to Balenciaga for all harm resulting from this false association.

The issue first emerged last week when news outlets and netizens called out the brand for sexualising children in its holiday campaign. The photos, which have since been deleted by the luxury fashion brand, reportedly showed children holding teddy bears that were wearing what seemed like bondage harnesses. One image showed a child standing on the bed with a plush bear bag and being surrounded by other accessories and Balenciaga purses. Those items also include what seems to be a chain leash. 

Related articles: 

Balenciaga apologises after copping flak for sexualising children in holiday ads
78-year old Squid Game actor Oh Young-soo goes viral as Balenciaga x Adidas model
Balenciaga and Vogue drop Kanye West after antisemitic comments
Balenciaga keeps with trashed theme with new bags
Salvation Army hijacks Balenciaga's destroyed sneaker look