They’re tied up in a scandal.
Balenciaga is under fire online after showing two young girls holding stuffed animals dressed in what appears to be bondage gear in an advertisement.
The fashion house — which has been associated with the likes of Kim Kardashian and previously made headlines for its daring fashion choices — featured the mini models in Balenciaga apparel, holding plush toys that contrasted with the horrifying bondage get-ups.
In one image, a ginger-haired little girl sported a T-shirt from the brand while holding the strap connected to a white bear, which was in a vest with a padlocked choker around its neck.
In another, a brunette child donned a blue outfit while clutching a purple plush animal, which was sporting similarly BDSM attire.
Balenciaga did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment.
The fashion brand fell under fire for their online adverts depicting children holding stuffed animals dressed in bondage gear.
The advertising images ran online, according to eagle-eyed Twitter users, and sparked outrage.
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Online shoppers spotted the adverts and were infuriated, calling the images “frightening,” “creepy” and “wrong.”
“I thought people were trolling, but nope. It’s real. Maybe this is why Balenciaga left Twitter. They don’t want to be held accountable. Yes, these are children holding teddy bears dressed in bondage outfits,” one Twitter user fumed.
“The brand ‘Balenciaga’ just did a uh….. interesting… photoshoot for their new products recently which included a very purposely poorly hidden court document about ‘virtual child porn’ normal stuff,” an eagle-eyed social media watchdog alleged.
“This is f’ing gross and infuriating. I try my best to avoid what seem like conspiracies here on Twitter, but they intentionally included this child porn reference in their shoot,” another chimed in, using the hashtag “burnitdown.”
“Ew even if the rest is too ‘conspiracy theory’ for the small brained people out there, WHY would you have a child holding a teddy bear with bondage gear on???? So gross! F – – k Balenciaga,” criticized another.
“Balenciaga using photos of little girls playing with teddy bears dressed in bondage gear on their website,” someone else wrote. “Lovely.”
“Frightening how many adults must have been involved in this,” one user agreed.
“Parents, photographers, creative directors, copy writers, web designers, design agency staff, producers, managers, advertisers,” they added. “And not one of them thought ‘hang on a minute’?”
“Jesus that’s just creepy and wrong,” commented someone else.
Balenciaga was heavily criticized online after the photos were spotted.
The fashion brand has been in some hot water recently after “Ye” — the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who was once associated with the French company — fired off offensive statements in yet another online rant.
In the days following his remarks, Balenciaga announced they would be cutting ties with the rapper, becoming one of the many brands to separate themselves from his reputation.
“Balenciaga has no longer any relationship nor any plans for future projects related to this artist,” the brand’s parent company, Kering, previously said in a statement.
* Article from: The New York Post
