The photographer hired by Balenciaga to take shots of children holding BDSM teddy bears says he is being made into a scapegoat by the fashion company.
As we highlighted yesterday, there was uproar after images to promote Balenciaga’s Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2023 collection showed young girls holding plush bear bags adorned with bondage gear.
The bears are seen wearing padlocks, fishnets, leather harnesses, as well as ankle and wrist restraints.
Another photo court showed documents concerning Ashcroft v Free Speech Coalition, a 2002 Supreme Court case. The case struck down a portion of the Child Pornography Prevention Act (CPPA) of 1996, ruling that “virtual” child pornography is protected speech.
Despite some ‘fact checkers’ labeling the issue an “absurd conspiracy theory,” Balenciaga publicly apologized for the controversy and said they were pursuing legal action against those responsible.
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. pic.twitter.com/zBlACUiZjo
— Sav! (@thisissavvy1) November 21, 2022
The fashion label claimed the photoshoot included “unapproved” items that were not given the green light to appear in the campaign.
However, it now appears this may have just been a deliberate ploy to deflect blame.
Famous photographer Gabriele Galimberti said the shoot was intended to be based on the theme of giving and receiving gifts, drawing inspiration from his “toy story” photography series.
Mr Galimberti responded to Balenciaga’s threat of legal action by telling Newsweek: “I am not in a position to comment [on] Balenciaga’s choices, but I must stress that I was not entitled in whatsoever manner to neither choose the products, nor the models, nor the combination of the same.”
In other words, Galimberti is claiming Balenciaga threw him under a bus and that the company itself was responsible for creating the pedo-friendly photo shoot set up.
The argument that the scandal represents something rotten within Balenciaga was bolstered by other evidence.
As a Twitter user highlighted, in a separate Balenciaga photo shoot, a book by Michaël Borremans, a Belgian painter, appears on the desk next to a model.
Some of Borremans’ paintings depict naked children who appear to be traumatized or involved in some kind of abusive environment.
Read More: Photographer Hired For Balenciaga ‘Kiddie BDSM’ Shoot