PFW2023: Balenciaga attempts redemption after bondage bear scandal – creative director Demna returned to the luxury fashion brand’s roots after Kering boss François-Henri Pinault’s recent comments

Mar 7 , 2023

A model presents a creation by Balenciaga as part of its autumn/winter 2023-2024 ready-to-wear collections during Paris Fashion Week, in Paris, France, on March 5. Photo: MeetEurope/Handout via Xinhua

Balenciaga has been mired in controversy for months, drawing criticism from Kim Kardashian and fashionistas worldwide – but cut ties with Kanye West over the rapper’s own scandal

Designer Demna – who has also worked for Louis Vuitton and Maison Margiela – recently showed new pieces at Paris Fashion Week, vowing to prioritise style over ‘buzz’

Having fled war as a child, Georgian designer Demna made fashion a sort of battleground of provocative ideas at the helm of Balenciaga. It was tremendously successful – until it wasn’t.

The 41-year-old, who dropped his last name Gvasalia in 2021, returned to the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week on Sunday for the first time since his hot streak was brought to a screeching halt late last year by a spectacularly ill-considered publicity campaign.

Former fashion designer for Vetements, Demna Gvasalia looks on at the end of his men and women’s spring/summer 2019 collection fashion show, in Paris, in July 2018. Photo: AFP

The ads featured children with teddy bear bags that had studs and harnesses – supposedly meant to evoke a punk aesthetic, but looking a lot like bondage gear.

It coincided with another ad campaign that included a strange background detail – a printout of a US Supreme Court judgment about child pornography.

Balenciaga has been mired in controversy in recent months. Photo: Handout

Demna apologised profusely in the pages of Vogue, denying any intention to reference child abuse, but the damage was done, with a slump in fourth-quarter sales and criticism from celebrity friends such as Kim Kardashian.

Balenciaga’s controversial teddy bear campaign sparked criticism and uproar. Photo: Instagram

He vowed to drop the provocations.

“I have decided to go back to my roots in fashion as well as to the roots of Balenciaga, which is making quality clothes – not making image or buzz,” he told Vogue.