This is a slightly different Christmas story. One of the most influential luxury houses, which has been at the forefront of stylistic challenges in recent years, presents a campaign of holiday gifts. Six children pose with their teddy bears in front of the table. The cubs wear sadomasochistic accessories, and on the table, instead of some other toys, there are wine glasses and other items for adults. The project was the first advertising campaign for Italian documentary photographer Gabriele Galliberti. The outrage was immediate, furious and universal.

This is not the first time Demna (he no longer uses his last name Gvasalia) has provoked us from the position of the artistic director of Balenciaga. But this time around, the strongest reactions come not only from the expected sources, but from the very heart of Generation Z communication channels like TikTok. Dom deletes footage from everywhere (on Instagram alone, Balenciaga has over 14 million followers) and starts blaming campaign partners, including a $25 million lawsuit against the production company.

Meanwhile, another campaign reveals a particularly curious detail. This is a collaboration between Balenciaga and Adidas, where influencers such as Isabelle Huppert and Nicole Kidman, known for their actions in support of women’s empowerment, pose with a Balenciaga x Adidas bag. Papers are laid out in one of the minimalistic offices of the photo shoot. Among them, someone notices a sheet of paper with a court decision in a child pornography case. On TikTok, young users are starting to cut clothes and accessories with scissors in front of the cameras on their mobile devices.

Fashion has many reading levels. It can be either concrete or abstract. It’s an idea, but it’s also pants. They certainly can’t be cute, if not especially smiling, kids holding teddy bears in their hands and showing off accessories with elements of BDSM, that is, bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadism and masochism.

The Balenciaga case brings the discussion about advertising restrictions back to the fore. Technology is transforming the massive, multi-faceted marketing tool whose role is to promote a product or service faster than ever. However, the development of desire and emotions always remains at its center. Think for a moment of the Italian Benetton advertising campaigns organized by photographer Oliviero Toscani. Among them is a photo of David Kirby with AIDS taken by a journalism student in 1990. Two years later, the original black-and-white photograph was turned into color and became the protagonist of the company’s advertising campaign. In addition to seasonal clothing, Benetton contributes to advertising by promoting social issues such as diversity and inclusion.

The idea of ​​a challenge is not new. In 1971, the shy rebel Yves Saint Laurent takes on the role of a model to promote his men’s fragrance through a nude photo shoot. The 80s begins with Calvin Klein asking fashion photographer Richard Avedon to photograph Brooke Shields for a Calvin Klein Jeans ad campaign. “What is between me and my Calvins? Nothing,” says Brooke in the ad. He is only 15 years old. Today, Tom Ford continues the sexy chic that characterizes many of his advertising campaigns.

As early as 1971, Yves Saint Laurent took on the role of model to promote his men’s fragrance through a nude photo shoot.

The financial and communication stakes of giant brands are enormous. Balenciaga has been playing to the limit for many years. A few years ago, he introduced his version of the famous Ikea plastic bag, turning it into a luxury item. Most recently, he promoted “damaged” sneakers that, at least visually, were just one step away from disintegration – priced at 1,450 euros. And then there’s brand partner Kim Kardashian, whom Demna posed on the red carpet of the 2021 Met Gala in a dystopian bodysuit covering her head, face and legs. The latter, however, announced via Twitter that she was disgusted by the controversial baby photos. And all this in a house founded by the greatest haute couture designer of his generation, Cristobal Balenciaga, in Paris in 1937.

“I want to personally apologize for the wrong artistic choice of the concept of a gift campaign with children and take responsibility. It was inappropriate for children to advertise products that have nothing to do with them,” Demna said a few days ago. “As much as I would sometimes like to provoke reflection in my work, I would never do it with such a terrible topic as child abuse, which I condemn. End of story.”

A little later, a statement was made by the company’s president, Cedric Sarby, about the company’s decisions after the global tsunami. Among them, the creation of a group that will evaluate advertising content (content), the cancellation of a lawsuit against a production company, as well as funding organizations that deal with children. Balenciaga is owned by the Kering Group, which also owns Gucci, where a few years ago a nose-length balaclava sweater (with a hole in the form of red lips at the mouth) caused an international outcry on the net, as it strongly resembles the racist practice of blackface.

Dolce & Gabbana also made a foul four years ago when they sent a campaign to the Chinese market with a model trying to eat pasta with Asian chopsticks. And let’s not forget the firing of John Galliano as art director of Dior when he was accused of making racist (mostly anti-Semitic) comments to patrons at a bar in Paris’s Marais quarter in 2011.

But there is another aspect of fashion. Remember the days when the conversation touched the territorial waters of style, always asking the question: “What’s in fashion this year?” Those days are fading away more and more. Yes, there are still trends, but fashion today is also developing a different agenda. She’s an activist, she has a social point of view, she’s into smart fabrics and other sustainable manufacturing solutions, and she places inclusivity and fluidity on the catwalks and on her pages. There have always been individual voices, such as the British Katherine Hamnett and Vivienne Westwood who put their political convictions into their work, or even Jean Paul Gaultier who relied so heavily on diversity. But, of course, today’s face of the industry as a whole is more socially active.

And then comes Demna. A designer who grew up not in the hyper-consumer West, but in 1980s Georgia, who seems to be using fashion as a social experiment. Who not only adopted a historic brand, a historic fashion house, but also believes that traditional elegance (in which Cristobal Balenciaga fully believed) does not excite us today. Which makes you think about the role of traditional luxury, affluent society, street fashion. Which has the famous “front row” cool guests watching the models walk through the mud. We follow the designer until the moment when six children hold teddy bears with sadomasochistic elements in their hands.

At the time of this writing, Demna retains Balenciaga’s artistic direction. We often hear that fashion reflects its time. However, at some point this mirror may break.