Balenciaga Will Not Sue Photographer for Images of Kids with BDSM Props

Balenciaga has clarified that it will not be suing the photographer who shot its controversial campaign that featured child models holding teddy bears dressed in bondage gear.

Instead, the fashion brand filed a $25 million lawsuit against the production company that created the photoshoot for another problematic image in the same advertising campaign.

‘Don’t Blame The Photographer’

Last week, Balenciaga pulled a holiday campaign that featured images of children carrying the brand’s “plush bear bags,” wearing sadomasochistic-style harnesses — after the photographs were widely condemned.

Balenciaga seemingly lay the blame on photographer Gabriele Galimberti who shot the campaign and suggested that it would take legal action against him.

Balenciaga’s allegations against Galimberti were criticized online. Many social media users expressed their disgust at the luxury brand for suggesting that the photographer was wholly responsible for the campaign.

There was also a debate among photographers on social media regarding whether Galimberti should have declined the job with Balenciaga.

While some social media users understood the pressure on photographers, they also felt he had an ethical responsibility to refuse the photo shoot.

But on Friday, a spokesperson for Balenciaga clarified to the Mail Online that it would not be suing Galimberti for the photographs.

A spokesperson says: “Balenciaga is not taking any legal action towards Gabriele Galimberti, the photographer of the Holiday campaign, that includes a child holding a teddy bear bag.”

A Lawsuit Over Another Photograph

Instead, Balenciaga filed a $25million lawsuit against the production company — who created the holiday campaign that featured photographs of children holding teddy bears in BDSM gear — for including an image that included legal documents from a U.S. Supreme Court decision on images of child pornography in the same campaign.

On Friday, the fashion house sued production company North Six Inc. as well as set designer Nicholas Des Jardins and his eponymous brand for including images of legal documents on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on child pornography laws in the same advertising campaign.

In the photograph from the campaign, a document from the 2008 Supreme Court ruling United States v Williams which examined if laws against the promotion of child pornography were in violation of the First Amendment is tucked under a Balenciaga handbag.

Balenciaga alleges that North Six Inc. and Des Jardins purposefully included the legal documents in the advert without telling the fashion brand’s executives. Balenciaga has described the move as “malevolent, or at the very least, extraordinarily reckless.”

In papers submitted to the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Balenciaga added that it is now looking to “redress for extensive damages defendants caused in connection with an advertising campaign Balenciaga hired them to produce.”

According to The New York Post, Balenciaga’s legal papers do not mention the photographs of the BDSM teddy bears.

Photographer Chris Maggio reportedly shot the photograph which included the excerpt from the Supreme Court’s ruling on child pornography.

In a statement to the Mail Online, a spokesperson for Balenciaga confirmed that it would not be taking legal action against Maggio.

“Chris Maggio was a photographer for the Spring 23 campaign. There is no legal action being taken against him,” the spokesperson explains.

“He did not create the set nor have anything to do with the unapproved items within it.”


Image credits: All photos by Gabriele Galimberti/Balenciaga

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