Balenciaga’s campaign for its home-made Christmas capsule creates a bad buzz

The luxury house known for its stunning shows and eye-catching designs has unveiled its collection of…unusual objects. But the launch campaign to present them online was immediately withdrawn. Its depiction of little girls shocked.

Balenciaga and its artistic director Demna Gvasalia are having fun with the codes of luxury and the brand by diverting them. As famous for its sock shoes as for the way its models looked at Fashion Week, crossing the catwalk in the mud, the House revealed its new collection of objects for the home. But the “Balenciaga Objects” advertising campaign, which went online on Friday 18 November to publicise it, caused a bad buzz on social networks.

The campaign featured little girls wearing the company’s latest bag, a cuddly toy that looks like a colourful little monster, in a bondage-style leather harness. The images caused a stir on social networks, with many users criticising them for their bad taste, some even talking about “pedo-chic”.

The campaign has since been withdrawn and the House has apologised: “We sincerely apologise for any offence our Christmas campaign may have caused. Our plush bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign,” the label’s Instagram account reads.

However, Balenciaga hopes that this will not prevent its new “gift shop” from filling Santa’s sack. The end-of-year capsule includes the famous scotch tape, available in four colours, which was used to wrap Kim Kardashian during the autumn-winter 22-23 show…

But this in-house range also includes towels, cups, water bottles and candle holders, whose use seems more innocent. This one plays with objects that are sometimes kitschy, sometimes in the style of a soda logo, or of a high-end hotel brand.

Finally, the famous House offers something to welcome your guests at the entrance with the “Balenciaga” stamped doormat and something to decorate your Christmas tree with miniature replicas of the brand’s icons. In other words, innocent little gadgets that should not cause any controversy…

Hélène Cougot

Passionnée depuis son plus jeune âge par l’art et la mode, Hélène s’oriente vers une école de stylisme, l’Atelier Chardon-Savard à Paris, avec une option Communication. Afin d’ajouter des cordes à son arc, elle décide de compléter sa formation par un MBA en Management du Luxe et Marketing Expérientiel à l’Institut Supérieur de Gestion à Paris dont elle sort diplômée en 2020. Elle a notamment écrit des articles lifestyle et beauté pour le magazine Do it in Paris et se spécialise en rédaction d’articles concernant le luxe, l’art et la mode au sein du magazine Luxus Plus.********** [EN] Passionate about art and fashion from a young age, Hélène went to a fashion design school, Atelier Chardon-Savard in Paris, with a Communication option. In order to add more strings to her bow, she decided to complete her education with an MBA in Luxury Management and Experiential Marketing at the Institut Supérieur de Gestion in Paris from which she graduated in 2020. She has written lifestyle and beauty articles for Do it in Paris magazine and specializes in writing articles about luxury, art and fashion for Luxus Plus magazine.