Balenciaga image of child holding teddy 'in bondage and fetish gear' causes outrage

A Balenciaga campaign showing a small child holding a teddy bear in a mesh vest and a padlock necklace has caused outrage online.

A screenshot of the campaign, which features on the fashion brand's homepage and shows the child standing on a bed with the stuffed animal among Balenciaga products, circulated on Mumsnet with the person who posted it saying the bear was "dressed in bondage and fetish gear" and that it was "wildly inappropriate."

"I don't understand how a whole team of people presumably thought this was ok!" they added. "It's gross."

People agreed with the Mumsnet user's assessment. One said the image was "highly inappropriate" while another called it "a very uncomfortable image".

"Bloody typical of Balenciaga," another said. "They shock to get attention for their overpriced rubbish.

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"It's like a social experiment on how ridiculous there products are but yet people buy the rubbish.

"This though is disgusting and verging on depraved. What possessed the parents of this child to think this is any sort of normal I cannot fathom."

However not everyone thought it was meant to show "bondage gear". "That's not bondage gear," one said. "Teddy is a punk. But I can see why people might think so."

Another said: "It looks punk to me, but a lot of the symbolism is the same chains, locks, spiked chokers etc. so either way it's not appropriate."

What do you make of it?

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