Balenciaga, a French fashion house, has filed a lawsuit of $25 million against North Six, the production company it hired to create one of two controversial advertising campaigns.
The ad, which appeared on Instagram, depicted a purse on top of a document-strewn desk. A partially visible page featuring a ruling on child pornography was one of the documents in the background. Balenciaga confirmed the controversial document, which was from a known case in 2008, which held that prohibiting the promotion of child pornography is not unconstitutional.
The lawsuit tackles how North Six, an independent production team based in New York, included documents for the photoshoot without Balenciaga’s knowledge. It’s a court document about a criminal vs. child pornography case.
North Six confirmed to CBS MoneyWatch on Monday that they were involved in the ad shoot that features the court document, but declined to comment further.
The ad with the Supreme Court page circulated online last week at the same time as another questionable campaign — not produced by North Six — featuring teddy bear bags dressed in bondages while a child holds it. The images sparked a social media firestorm, with critics claiming the ads normalized child abuse. Kim Kardashian, a reality star turned entrepreneur, said on Sunday that the teddy bear campaign prompted her to reconsider her relationship with Balenciaga.
I have been quiet for the past few days, not because I haven’t been disgusted and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns, but because I wanted an opportunity to speak to their team to understand for myself how this could have happened.
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) November 27, 2022
Balenciaga issued a statement on Monday, apologizing for both images but assuring that the 2 are separate ad campaigns.
The company takes full responsibility for the released teddy bear bag advertisement. They mentioned that it resulted from poor decisions made by the company.
Balenciaga removed all of its Instagram posts last week.
