NEW YORK – Luxury fashion house Balenciaga is seeking at least US$25 million (S$34 million) in damages from the production company behind an advertising campaign that has made the luxury fashion house the target of fierce criticism at the start of the holiday shopping season.

Balenciaga filed a lawsuit last Friday in the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, alleging that production company North Six and set designer Nicholas Des Jardins used documents related to a child pornography case in photos for the campaign without permission.

As a result, the public and the media “have falsely and horrifically associated Balenciaga with the repulsive and deeply disturbing subject”, the fashion house said in the court documents.

It has also been facing backlash over another campaign which featured children clutching teddy bears clad in bondage gear.

Balenciaga withdrew the images following an uproar on social media and on Monday deleted all posts on its Instagram account.

It uploaded a single photo with a statement that read: “We strongly condemn child abuse; it was never our intent to include it in our narrative. The two separate ad campaigns in question reflect a series of grievous errors for which Balenciaga takes responsibility.”

A representative for North Six declined to comment. A representative for Des Jardins did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Balenciaga on Monday also reiterated its apology and said in a statement that it takes “full accountability for our lack of oversight and control of the documents in the background”.

The brand added: “We could have done things differently.”

The scandals led celebrity influencer and businesswoman Kim Kardashian to say she is re-evaluating her relationship with Balenciaga.

Kardashian has been featured in numerous advertising campaigns for the brand, led by chief executive Cedric Charbit and creative director Demna. Last year, she appeared at the Met gala in a full Balenciaga outfit that covered her face.

On Sunday, Kardashian told her 334 million Instagram followers that her future relationship with the brand will be based on its “willingness to accept accountability for something that should have never happened to begin with”.

“The safety of children must be held in the highest regard and any attempts to normalise child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society,” she said.

HSBC estimated in an April report that Balenciaga generated about 1.76 billion euros (S$2.51 billion) in sales in 2021. 

The brand made headlines earlier this month when it stopped working with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, after he posted anti-Semitic posts. Ye is Kardashian’s former husband. BLOOMBERG