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Designer brand Balenciaga slammed for promoting 'child fetish content'

By Suzy Monzer|

Major fashion brand Balenciaga has been berated with criticism after releasing photos of two young girls that appear to be holding stuffed animals in bondage gear.

The advertisement, which has since been deleted, ran online as part of a new campaign.

One image featured one red-haired girl in a Balenciaga shirt holding a strap attached to a white bear? in a vest with a padlock choker around its neck.

The second showed a brunette child donning a blue outfit while clutching a purple plush animal that was decorated similarly to the first in BDSM-style attire.?

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Two child models from new Balenciaga Objects Campaign. (Balenciaga)

As part of the campaign, the fashion brand stated the Balenciaga Objects Collection "is an exploration of what people collect and receive as gifts". However,? a Tiktoker under the handle @rachmcqueen1 slammed the ads, referring to previous accusations of potential child exploitation the brand faced.

In a viral Tiktok, McQueen referenced a 2019 press release by Balenciaga parent company จC Kering Group จC that said the company "plans to stop hiring models under the age of 18".?

"So that means one of two things: these children aren't hired models, or Balenciaga is just doing it anyway," said McQueen.?

The photographer who took the images of the girls, Gabriel Galimberti?, has taken photos of people surrounded by their things for over 15 years. However, in light of the agreement to stop hiring underage models and the particular images of the girls, McQueen also called out the photographer.

"This raises big questions," McQueen said.

"Also, Balenciaga are you trying to tell us that this is implied child pornography? That this is like fetish content? Because that's kind of exactly what it looks like."??

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Balenciaga child model pictured in the new campaign. (Balenciaga)

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Balenciaga had posted 10 new images featuring its Spring 23 campaign that have since been deleted. The fashion brand also removed the images of the girls off its website, replacing them with others.?

Despite these efforts, the images are still available as they had already began circulating online.

Others took to Twitter to voice their frustrations with the advertisements.?

One tweet read: "I've never been one to 'cancel' but fashion brand Balenciaga needs to be shut down จC This is a new low for society and a not-so-new high for Satan."

"Why would a multi-million-dollar fashion company like Balenciaga run ads for their 'Object Line' using children holding teddy bears in bondage costumes? Who are they targeting and what are they promoting?" said another.

"Balenciaga using photos of little girls playing with teddy bears dressed in bondage gear on their website," someone else wrote. "Lovely."

"This is f--ing gross and infuriating," another chimed in, using the hashtag #burnitdown.

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This isn't the first time B?alenciaga has come under fire, first for abusing models during Paris fashion week in 2017, and more recently for its association with Kanye West.

Balenciaga has not yet publicly responded to the criticism.

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