All is forgiven: Balenciaga boss Demna is lauded by friend Kim Kardashian and billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault in fawning Harper's Bazaar interview - year after boycott over child BDSM ad

Kim Kardashian and billionaire François-Henri Pinault have praised Balenciaga creative director Demna two years after his brand was boycotted over a child BDSM ad campaign. 

In the Harper's Bazaar profile, Kardashian described Demna as a 'gentle soul' who 'knows exactly what he wants' while Pinault said he 'influences the whole of fashion'. 

Their endorsements come two years after Balenciaga was thrown into chaos after running a pair of adverts featuring a child holding a teddy bear dressed in a BDSM outfit and another with court documents about child pornography. 

The ensuing scandal saw a mass boycott of Balenciaga products, with some critics even burning clothes and graffitiing store fronts. 

The brand issued an apology, but over a year on sales were still down with the 'Other Houses' division it falls into at parent company Kering dropping 15 percent in the third quarter of 2023, according to Vogue. 

'Longtime friend' Kim Kardashian praised Demna in a new Harper's Bazaar piece

The story comes two years after the brand was boycotted for a pair of adverts which saw children posing with BDSM bears

Balenciaga creative director Demna who was blamed for the advertising scandals

Despite this, the new Harper's Bazaar interview with Demna only briefly addressed the scandal, referring to it as a 'tumult' that surrounded the 'controversial' pair of adverts. 

It says Demna is 'candid' about what a 'dark period' it was, and quotes him saying: 'I had a difficult year, and doing the show here is just like…' with a sigh of relief. 

He later added: 'I think that I am steadily and very persistently evolving my body of work. I think I am better now than I was before, but I'm not as good as I should be.

'In seven years of therapy, [I learned] that the best and most important relationship I have is with myself.'

He added: 'I don't have a strategy about what I do; I just do it.'

Instead of reflecting on the scandal, the piece focuses on his work and his relationships with the celebrities he collaborates with. 

It quotes 'longtime friend' of Demna and brand ambassador, Kardashian as saying: 'He's just such a gentle soul who knows exactly what he wants.

'He doesn't need all the people around him to tell him what his point of view is. And the way he thinks—it's forward.' 

Actress Isabelle Huppert, who appeared in the adverts and narrated his recent show, is quoted saying: 'When you meet Demna, you feel his authenticity. You see his journey.'

And Chairman and CEO of Balenciaga's parent company, Kering, Pinault, praised Demna's 'strong personal universe' and 'his creative vision' in the piece. 

In this image from Balenciaga's scrapped Spring '23 campaign, Isabelle Huppert sits in front of a stack of books including one that celebrates Michael Borremans, a Belgian painter whose work is known to include depictions of castrated toddlers

One of the ad's photos contained an excerpt from the US Supreme Court opinion in United States v. Williams, which upheld part of a federal child pornography law 

He said the designer 'is very much in tune with our times and resonates particularly well with young customers.'

And added: 'He has put Balenciaga back at the center of the fashion map, and beyond Balenciaga, he somehow influences the whole of fashion.'

The piece also quoted Demna's mother, who praised his 'intelligence', 'sincerity' and 'unyielding' nature. 

Their praise comes two years after Balenciaga's release of adverts featuring children posing with the brand's Plush Toy Bag. The bags look like teddy bears and are dressed in BDSM gear. 

In the photo shoot, the kids also appeared surrounded by empty wine and champagne glasses. 

The adult themes troubled many who asked why children had ever been used. 

Balenciaga ignored the scandal at first and seemed to allow the photographer who was involved, Gabriele Galimberti, to take the heat. 

He released a statement saying he had no control over the content of the shoot and eventually, Balenciaga released its own statement agreeing with him and taking responsibility for the campaign. 

It has now been pulled from the internet.  

Vandalism on an empty store on Rodeo Drive last night in a clear protest against the brand, whose own store is nearby 

Meanwhile on social media, disenchanted consumers burned their Balenciaga goods in protest 

After the BDSM bears adverts, critics started examining the rest of Balenciaga's campaigns. 

They found that in the background of an image from the Spring '23 campaign was a printout of a Supreme Court ruling on whether or not internet child porn can be legally considered free speech. 

On the back of the bears scandal, many critics said it pointed to a troubling pattern within Balenciaga. 

Balenciaga blamed North Six, a production company that helped arrange the shoot, for the inclusion of those documents. 

They claimed that they entrusted all of the props from the photoshoot to North Six, and that their team was assured everything that was included was fake.