Designers
Balenciaga Designer Opens Up About Campaign Scandal
Demna Gvasalia, a designer at heart who is currently the creative director of the luxury fashion brand Balenciaga opened up about the infamous ad campaign scandal in 2022. The ads were a part of the brand’s Gift Collection, which featured teddy bear plushies covered in BDSM-like layers. The main issue? The ad featured children holding plushies and the accessories that the brand was trying to sell. Soon, Balenciaga turned off comment sections and put up apologies, but it seems like the brand has not entirely been able to recover from the backlash. There were big impacts on Balenciaga’s overall image and business, as well as how they portrayed themselves in the media. Creative director Demna opened up about the issue with Vogue magazine in Paris in an interview. This is Demna’s very first interview since the controversy took over the front pages of every major news publication.
Demna’s Apology
Starting off, the designer apologized for the ad campaigns that featured children with props such as lawsuit papers for child pornography as well as teddy bears dressed in risque outfits on handbags. According to him, the handbags were symbols of the modern DIY and punk culture and not objects of sexual fantasies.
“This was an error of judgment. I regret this a lot. We learned from this now and there are going to be closer and more attentive checks and validation steps applied before any image goes out. For this I want to say I am sorry; I sincerely apologize for what happened and to anyone who has been hurt by it.”
In the interview, he also claimed that the prints of the Supreme Court ruling paper about child pornography and that of a book by Michaël Borremans are completely coincidental. Michaël Borremans is known for his controversial paintings of children and his ties to convicted child abusers. The designer dodges the responsibility of the shoot and the campaign, implying that neither he nor Balenciaga knew anything regarding the themes of the campaign.
“What I can definitely say is that it was not intentional by me or Balenciaga. If it was intentional by someone else, I don’t know.”
Balenciaga’s legacy has been tainted with accusations of supporting pedophilia and promoting child abuse. Demna himself is very well known for being a provocative artist, but this time around, he denied having any part in the controversial shoot. Many accused him of trying to put Balenciaga in the headlines by stirring up controversy because it is something he is famous for. However, the designer maintained his stance, saying:
“The provocative aspect of my work often got misinterpreted and misunderstood, and I no longer feel like applying it to my designs. I often used some kind of wit in my design language, and it has often been deemed provocative. For me, it was more about having fun and not taking fashion too seriously,” he told Vogue. “Despite what many people may have suspected, the issue with the campaigns was absolutely not in any way part of my provocative design language — never, ever would I have an idea to mess around with such an awful and horrible thing as child abuse.
Since the controversy, Balenciaga has made many changes to how things like ad campaigns function. According to Demna, they have enforced checks and validations that rigorously check anything and everything before it goes up to the eyes of the public. He mentioned that there would be a new image board and a more responsible attitude regarding the brand’s future products and campaigns.
Ruth E. Carter is a 62-year-old veteran American costume designer. She’s had a vast career and a playing field that spans far above and below her recent projects. She has previously worked in over 30 films where she put her best foot forward and showcased her talent.
Straight out of Hampton University, Carter showed brilliance in her field of work. She has previously worked on Malcolm X, Spike Lee’s passion project, as well as Amistad, perhaps a lesser-known Steven Spielberg film. While the legendary costume designer has been nominated for an Oscar a total of four times, she made history at the 2023 Oscars as she became the very first black woman to have two Oscars to her name.
Carter and Black Panther
Ruth Carter has also worked on the original Black Panther film that starred the late Chadwick Boseman. At the time, Carter won the academy award in the same category as Black Panther and became the first African-American to win an award for costume design. And now, for the sequel of the same film, the designer made history by holding the golden lady not just once but twice.
“Nice to see you again,” Carter said as she took the stage. “Thank you to the Academy for recognizing the superhero that is a Black woman. She endures, she loves, she overcomes, she is every woman in this film.”
Said Carter, the designer, was also honoring the memory of her late mother, who recently passed away at the age of 101. In her acceptance speech, she also looked up and asked the late Chadwick Boseman to take care of her mother.
She later thanked the academy as well as Kevin Feige and the producers behind Marvel and Black Panther for having great trust in her. She is a true icon and a celebrity to never forget.
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Pharell Williams is known for a lot of things, his expansive career as a producer, his rapping skills, his singing, and songwriting, as well as his keen sense of fashion. The star is really a jack of all trades. He is often seen wearing classy street wear fused with other sorts of styles that really go with his whole personality. Maybe this unique sense of fashion was what landed him a job as the menswear creative director at the luxury French fashion brand Louis Vuitton. Pharell will be bringing his own vision to the brand and will have his own show very soon as well.
Previous Director And Pharell’s Show
The position of menswear creative director was held by none other than the famous Virgil Abloh. Unfortunately, the American designer suffered from a rare form of cancer for over two years until succumbing to it in November of 2021. Abloh was the founder of the Off-White fashion brand which in itself is very famous and successful. His days at Louis Vuitton were still fruitful as his last fashion show was one of the most beautiful.
The show was created after the designer’s fateful demise and had an elaborate Dreamhouse concept with models and dancers dressed up as angels. The clothing also featured gender-less features blurring the concept of gender-specific clothing. A true visionary like Abloh rightfully deserved this perfect sendoff from the brand he gave so much. The new choice to fill the role is Pharell Williams, an artist at heart and fashion supernova in the making.
The death of Abloh was mourned by all the celebrities of Hollywood. It does look like Pharell has big shoes to fill. The brand and the artist had previously worked together back in the years 2004 as well as 2008. This could be one reason Pharell will feel comfortable with his fellow designers at work. Here’s a statement by the chairman and CEO Pietro Beccari:
“I am glad to welcome Pharrell back home, after our collaborations in 2004 and 2008 for Louis Vuitton, as our new Men’s Creative Director,” he said. “His creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton towards a new and very exciting chapter.”
Williams will have his first-ever menswear collection shown at Men’s Fashion Week in Paris. This show will take place in the month of June and will mark Pharell’s entry as the menswear creative director. Pharell has had a brilliant journey in the world of music with his songs breaking records and earning him many accolades over a career that began back in the 1990s. He formed his own R&B duo called The Neptunes, and since then Pharell has been active in the scene for a very long period of time.
In fact, the artist has been so popular and impactful that he has often been called the most influential artist of the 21st century. In 2006, he released his own solo album and later his song Happy was the lead soundtrack in the 2013 animated film Despicable Me 2. Williams has been on the roll ever since. He was awarded Record of the year, as well as Best Pop Dup/Group performance for Daft Punk’s song, Get Lucky which featured him.
The 49-year-old singer-songwriter has won 13 Grammys over his lifelong career and various other accolades. He is also the co-founder of a streetwear fashion brand called Billionaire Boys Club with Japanese talent Nigo. He has also worked with high-profile brands like Adidas, Channel, and Moncler. Clearly, the artist is no stranger to the world of fashion.
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