Kim Kardashian’s brief break from Balenciaga appears to be over.
Amid the fashion house’s 2022 ad scandal stemming from a campaign that showed children holding bondage-themed teddy bear bags, the style superstar announced she was “re-evaluating” her relationship with the brand, which she had worn on a regular basis for years.
But after pivoting to looks from labels like Rick Owens and Dolce & Gabbana for several months, Kardashian returned to wearing Balenciaga during a recent trip to Tokyo with daughters North, 9, and Chicago, 5.
In Instagram photos and TikToks the mother of four shared from Japan this week, she can be seen rocking a number of pieces from the controversial brand, including a pink faux fur coat, thigh-high silver boots, an oversized leather trench and several pairs of sunglasses.
Kardashian previously said in a November Twitter thread that she was “disgusted and outraged” by the “disturbing images” in the Balenciaga ads, which also included child pornography-related Supreme Court documents.
“The safety of children must be held with the highest regard and any attempts to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society — period,” she tweeted at the time.
Kardashian added that any decision to reengage with Balenciaga in the future would be based on “their willingness to accept accountability for something that should have never happened to begin with — & the actions I am expecting to see them take to protect children.”
The Skims founder — who has starred in several Balenciaga campaigns and modeled in its runway show – reportedly turned down another ad offer from the label later that month.
In a December appearance on Angie Martinez’s “IRL” podcast, Kardashian spoke about the difficulties of navigating the debacle.
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“As soon as I saw what everyone was seeing … I completely spoke out and gave my thoughts on child porn and completely denounced it,” she told the host.
“But because I didn’t say, ‘F—k you, Balenciaga, that’s it,’ people got mad at that. So they’re mad if I don’t speak out. They’re mad if I do speak out, and if I don’t cancel.”
Balenciaga has apologized multiple times for the offending ads, saying that it “takes responsibility” for the “series of grievous errors” that led to their release and will be “closely revising” its creative processes to prevent future “mistakes.”
The brand’s creative director, Demna, issued his own apology for the “inappropriate” imagery in December, and elaborated on the scandal in a February Vogue interview.
“I will have to question absolutely everything now. It really changes my way of working, which has previously been more instinctive; doing something that would be seen as maybe provocative just because I was thinking, ‘Oh, that’s fun,’” Demna told the publication.
“This is part of my learning: I will have a more mature and serious approach to everything I release as an idea or an image. 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.”
