Demna Releases Personal Statement Regarding Balenciaga Controversy
“As much as I would sometimes like to provoke a thought through my work, I would NEVER have an intention to do that with such an awful subject.”
Demna, Creative Director of Balenciaga, has spoken out regarding the recent controversy surrounding not one, but two of the brand’s latest campaigns.
The Georgian designer shared a statement on Instagram, apologizing for the decisions made by the brand. “I want to personally apologize for the wrong artistic choice of concept for the gifting campaign with the kids and I take my responsibility. It was inappropriate to have kids promote objects that had nothing to do with them,” Demna began.
The designer continued, “As much as I would sometimes like to provoke a thought through my work, I would NEVER have an intention to do that with such an awful subject as child abuse that I condemn. Period. I need to learn from this, listen and engage with child protection organizations to know how I can contribute and help on this terrible subject.”
Ending his statement, Demna said “I apologize to anyone offended by the visuals and Balenciaga has guaranteed that adequate measures will be taken not only to avoid similar mistakes in the future but also to take accountability in protecting child welfare in every way we can.”
The brand issued its own statement just last week and announced that it would be suing its production company for $25 million USD, after brand ambassador Kim Kardashian admitted that she’d be “re-evaluating her future” with Balenciaga, and after model Bella Hadid seemingly deleted a number of campaign-related posts from her Instagram account. Most recently, Julia Fox came to the defence of Kardashian, questioning why a woman was “being blamed for a man’s mistake.”
Stay tuned for more updates.
