Balenciaga's Axed Spring 23 Campaign Shows Book From Artist Whose Work Includes Images Of Castrated Toddlers
Nov. 28 2022, Published 8:00 p.m. ET
Balenciaga is coming under fire yet again for including a book from artist Michaël Borremans in their axed Spring '23 ad campaign, RadarOnline.com has discovered.
One of Borremans' books could be seen in the background of the photo shoot spotlighting French actress Isabelle Huppert, who modeled in a Manhattan office. It's unclear which particular work was featured in the shoot.
Borremans is a Belgian painter whose 2017 series Fire From The Sun features castrated toddlers and babies holding what appear to be severed limbs, as pointed out by Daily Mail on Monday amid ongoing backlash from their recent campaigns.
The book by Michael Bracewell also features images of toddlers with blood on their skin.
Per the Amazon description, Fire from the Sun shows toddlers engaged in "playful but mysterious acts with sinister overtones."
"In this series of work, children are presented alone or in groups against a studio-like backdrop that negates time and space, while underlining the theatrical atmosphere and artifice that exists throughout Borremans' recent work," the description read.
Balenciaga has yet to address the latest controversy, sharing a second statement on Monday amid fallout over their campaign images including kids holding up a plush teddy bear wearing a BDSM-themed outfit in addition to another photo including documents regarding the SCOTUS child porn ruling.
"We strongly condemn child abuse; it was never our intent to include it in our narrative. The two separate ad campaigns in question reflect a series of grievous errors for which Balenciaga takes responsibility," their official statement began. "Our plush bear bags and the gift collection should not have been featured with children. This was a wrong choice by Balenciaga, combined with our failure in assessing and validating images."
As for the documents, "they turned out to be real legal papers most likely coming from the filming of a television drama," according to the fashion house.
"The inclusion of these unapproved documents was the result of reckless negligence for which Balenciaga has filed a complaint. We take full accountability for our lack of oversight and control of the documents in the background and we could have done things differently."
As the backlash continues, Kim Kardashian, Bella Hadid, and Nicole Kidman have been called to stop working with Balenciaga.
The Skims founder denounced the shoot, stating that she was "shocked and appalled" by the images and spoke with the fashion house about what happened.
Kardashian said she is currently re-evaluating her relationship with the brand, "basing it off their willingness to accept accountability for something that should have never happened to begin with — & the actions I am expecting to see them take to protect children."
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