Balenciaga has issued another statement, this time "strongly condemning" child abuse and addressing the fallout over its controversial campaign.
The luxury brand faced backlash last week after sharing a photo shoot on its website that featured child models posing with teddy bears for the Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2023 collection.
Online users pointed out that the advert - which is part of its Toy Stories campaign - displayed children holding toys that were seemingly dressed in bondage and BDSM gear, including fishnet tops, studded leather harnesses, and collars with locks.
Since the extensive backlash, the high-end fashion brand took to its Instagram page to "address the controversies" surrounding the disturbing campaign - which also featured a child pornography court ruling.
Read their statement below:"We strongly condemn child abuse; it was never our intent to include it in the narrative," the luxury couture company wrote in the statement.
"Our plush bear bags and the gift collection should have not been featured with children," they continued. "This was a wrong choice by Balenciaga, combined with our failure in assessing and validating images. The responsibility for this lies with Balenciaga alone."
Elsewhere in the apology, the label addressed the court filings in one of the pictures which were from a US Supreme Court case that ruled on child porn laws.
"The second, separate campaign for spring 2023, which was meant to replicate a business office environment, included a photo from a page in the background from a Supreme Court ruling 'United States v. Williams' 2008 which confirms as illegal and not protected by freedom of speech the promotion of child pornography," Balenciaga wrote.
"All the items included in this shooting were provided by third parties that confirmed in writing that these props were fake office documents," they clarified, adding, "They turned out to be [real legal] papers most likely coming from the filming of a television drama."
The company described the "inclusion of these unapproved documents" as "reckless negligence," which was presumably placed by a contract worker hired for the photo shoot and said they already "filed a complaint".
According to the New York Post, Balenciaga has reportedly since filed a $25 million lawsuit against the parties allegedly responsible: production company North Six and set designer Nicholas Des Jardins and his company.
They then wrote in their statement that it takes "full accountability for our lack of oversight and control of the documents in the background" and said that it "could have done things differently".
The fashion label - which has been associated with the likes of Kim Kardashian - declared that they are "revising" their organization and "collective ways of working".
"We are reinforcing the structures around our creative processes and validation steps. We want to ensure that new controls mark a pivot and will prevent this from happening again," they wrote.
The company even claimed to be working with "organizations who specialize in child protection and aims at ending child abuse and exploitation".
"We want to learn from our mistakes and identify ways we can contribute," Balenciaga concluded. "Balenciaga reiterates its sincere apologies for the offense we have caused and extends its apologies to talents and partners."
Read Galimberti's statement below:The brand's second statement comes after the photographer behind the shoot - Gabriele Galimberti - came forward to address the criticism after receiving "hundreds of hate mails and messages" over the shoot.
The 45-year-old National Geographic photographer alleged that, although he shot the pictures, he was "not entitled" to select the products or models featured in the campaign.
"As usual for a commercial shooting, the direction of the campaign and the choice of the objects displayed are not in the hands of the photographer," he clarified.
He also claimed in his statement that the backlash directed at him over the campaign was misplaced and wrote that it "distracts from the real problem and criminals".
The photographer also took the opportunity to explain that he has "no connection" with the photos in which a "Supreme Court document appears".
According to Galimberti, the photo in which the court papers could be seen was "taken in another set by other people and was falsely associated with my photo".
