The fashion world was rocked by a recent scandal surrounding ad campaigns from Balenciaga that featured children, bondage gear, and documents from a Supreme Court case surrounding child pornography. Now, people are criticizing a Harry Styles Gucci ad for containing similar themes.
Balenciaga’s Inappropriate Ads Featured Court Rulings On Child Pornography
In November, Balenciaga released images from their Spring/Summer 2023 collection. Some ads contained images of children holding handbags that looked like teddy bears. The stuffed toys were wearing leather harnesses and spiked collars that resembled bondage gear.
Another round of ads showed models posing in an office set. In the photo, legal documents about United States V. Williams could be seen. This was a Supreme Court ruling that declared the promotion of child pornography illegal and that it was not protected under free speech.
RELATED: Danica McKeller Doesn’t Go Far Enough In Condemning Candace Cameron Bure’s Hateful LGBTQ+ Comments
People quickly slammed Balenciaga for featuring children in sexualized ads and the fashion house issued an apology for having children pose with the bondage-themed handbags.
They also said they were “taking legal action” against the people who put the Supreme Court documents on the set, filing a $25 million suit against the company that produced the campaign.
Gucci Under Fire For Harry Styles Ads With Child’s Mattress
Now, another fashion house is coming under fire for similar themes in a fashion spread. Harry Styles, a longtime partner with Gucci, was recently featured in an ad campaign. The pop star wore a t-shirt with a pink teddy bear on it and was photographed with a small, twin-size mattress.
People soon flooded the comments section of the brand’s Instagram post, writing that they would no longer buy or wear Gucci items. “Just stop this kind of advertising!!!” one person wrote. “All of us are aware.”
However, some defended the ad, saying that people were just jumping to conclusions. “I’m in college, that’s literally the mattress you’re given in college,” someone commented.
“Grow up and leave this man alone. There are so many other people that you could be angry at so why pick him? About a mattress of all things.”
Gucci Has Not Yet Commented On The Controversy
Adding fuel to the fire? Gucci and Balenciaga are both owned by Kering, an international luxury goods group, leading some to believe there’s a connection between both controversial ad campaigns.
Neither Gucci nor Style have addressed the controversy surrounding the photos. It’s unknown whether or not the fashion house will pull their ads featuring the star, but after the Balenciaga scandal, people are looking much more closely at high-fashion ad campaigns.