In the fallout of the child sexualization scandal from Balenciaga, major retailers and other companies connected to the brand have yet to speak out publicly, even as the high-end Spanish fashion house slowly admits its own culpability.
As reported previously by The Dallas Express, Balenciaga has been the subject of outrage and protest since images from its Spring/Summer 2023 advertising campaign went viral with allegations of child exploitation and sexualization.
As the story has continued to create major backlash across the world, high-end retailers that carry Balenciaga products, like Dallas-based Neiman Marcus, have remained silent.
According to reports, Neiman Marcus has not publicly commented on the Balenciaga child sexualization scandal at all and continues to sell the company’s products in all of its stores.
The Dallas Express reached out to Neiman Marcus for comment on whether it planned to continue selling Balenciaga products, what its assessment of the ad campaign is, and whether retailers like itself are responsible for the conduct of the brands they choose to sell.
As of the writing of this article, Neiman Marcus had not responded, which mirrors reports from other outlets that have sought comment from the high-end department store.
The silence of retailers like Neiman Marcus, however, is even more questionable as Balenciaga has begun to publicly accept responsibility for its campaign.
When the story initially broke, Balenciaga pointed the finger at the campaign’s photographer and production company, going so far as to file a lawsuit for at least $25 million in damages against these creatives.
However, in early December, Balenciaga quietly dropped the lawsuit, which it announced as part of a larger statement from its CEO Cedric Charbit posted on Instagram.
Under the heading “Lawsuit,” Charbit wrote, “Balenciaga has decided not to pursue litigation.” This represents a stark and rapid turn from its filing of the lawsuit in the New York State Supreme Court just weeks ago.
In another subdued omission of its responsibility, Balenciaga’s artistic director has issued a formal apology for the campaign.
The director, known only by his first name Demna, also posted his statement on Instagram.
“I want to personally apologize for the wrong artistic choice of concept for the gifting campaign with the kids, and I take my responsibility,” he wrote. “It was inappropriate to have kids promote objects that had nothing to do with them.”
Committing to learning from the situation, Demna stated that “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.”
Despite this forward-looking commitment, recent reporting by the Daily Mail has revealed that Balenciaga’s parent company, Kering, was approached over a year ago by Alexandra Zarini, the great-granddaughter of the founder of Gucci, to participate in her charity’s efforts to protect children from exploitation and sexualization in fashion campaigns.
Kering reportedly did not respond to the request.
After the Balenciaga scandal erupted in late November, representatives from The Alexandra Gucci Children’s Foundation, Zarini’s charity, again reached out to Kering and were again met with silence, the Daily Mail reported.
Kering has remained silent throughout this scandal, as have its CEO Francois-Henri Pinault and his world-famous wife, actress Salma Hayek.
Carrie Prejean Boller, a former Miss California pageant winner and Miss USA runner-up, recently weighed in on the silence of Neiman Marcus and others on a recent podcast.
Prejean Boller pointed out that Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus dropped Ivanka Trump’s fashion line after her father won the presidency in 2016, but both continue to sell Balenciaga products.
The former pageant queen said she recently entered a Nordstrom and saw Balenciaga products “front and center.”
“If Balenciaga did something against the LGBTQ [community] they’d be pulled in a second,” she fumed.
For now, however, with its parent company and retail partners sitting out the media storm, Balenciaga looks set to survive this public relations nightmare.
