Insider Feature: What Balenciaga Did To Children

In November 2022, Balenciaga published a Christmas campaign featuring young children holding teddy bear handbags dressed in bondage gear. At the same time, a separate campaign contained a printed excerpt from a US Supreme Court ruling on child pornography laws. The children in the campaign were the children of Balenciaga employees. A committee of dozens of people at Kering approved the images. The $25 million lawsuit Balenciaga filed to blame the production company lasted seven days before being quietly dropped. The creative director said he didn’t see the creepy part.In January 2025, France’s main trade union described Balenciaga’s use of employees’ children as a Machiavellian deceit and filed a formal report alleging the parents had no real ability to refuse. In January 2026, the French Labour Inspectorate opened a formal investigation. In March 2025, the creative director was appointed to run Gucci.This episode is the full story. Every detail. The campaigns, the approval process, the children, the rehabilitation, and what it all says about an industry that has consistently chosen to protect itself over the people who cannot protect themselves.Follow on Instagram: @nakullaxEmail the show: [email protected]