Kim Kardashian Shows Off Her Balenciaga Bags (All 129 of Them!) in First Campaign as Brand Ambᴀssador
The ambᴀssadorship comes over a year after Kardashian said she was “re-evaluating” her relationship with Balenciaga following the house’s 2022 holiday ad scandal.
Kim Kardashian is officially a Balenciaga brand ambᴀssador.
On Monday, the luxury fashion house tapped Kardashian, 43, to be an ambᴀssador, and on Tuesday, the reality TV personality starred in her first campaign in the new role — from the comfort of her own closet.
The Kardashians star fronted the brand’s Closet Campaign, a celebration of the return of the brand’s iconic Le City Bag, which first hit shelves over two decades ago in 2000.
Lensed by the fashion pH๏τography duo Inez and Vinoodh, the campaign also features Nicola Peltz, Roh Yoon-Seo, Paloma Elsesser, Patricia Field and Devon Lee Carlson, each of whom poses in a “museum-like” closet designed to exhibit a collection of their “coveted personal objects,” per the brand.
Kardashian cements her personal relationship with the brand by, rather than posing on a curated set, starring in the campaign from her own closet — where her coveted possessions happen to be 129 Balenciaga bags.
And that figure is exact — she counted them herself. “My guess will be… 130,” Kardashian says in a campaign video, before taking a break to count each one, shelf by colorful shelf.
After nearly forgetting the bag in her hands, she counted a total of 129. “I’m one bag off,” she tells the camera. “You guys, I won.”
Kardashian brought not only her impressive purse closet but also her signature style to the campaign, rocking a skintight black bodysuit and her go-to “wet hair.”
After announcing Kardashian’s grand — and official — return to Balenciaga on Monday, the reality star issued a statement.
“For several years now, Balenciaga’s designs have been a part of my many looks – and some of my most iconic fashion moments,” she said in a statement. “This historic fashion house embraces modernity, craftsmanship and takes an innovative approach to design under Demna. For me, this long-standing relationship is built on mutual trust and a commitment to doing what’s right.”
“I’m excited about this next chapter for the brand and to become their ambᴀssador,” she finished. The news and new campaign comes a little over a year after she
The first featured pH๏τos of children holding handbags that looked like teddy bears wearing leather harnesses and spiked collars. Some sH๏τs also featured wine glᴀsses.
The second included an image with a page from a Supreme Court ruling of United States v. Williams, which deemed the promotion of child pornography illegal and not protected under freedom of speech.
The campaigns were met with immediate backlash — social media users accused the company of Sєxualizing the children in the ads — and a week later, Balenciaga issued a response.
“We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign,” the brand wrote in a statement on Instagram, adding that it “immediately removed the campaign from all platforms.”
The brand also issued a second statement apologizing “for displaying unsettling documents in our campaign.”
“We take this matter very seriously and are taking legal action against the parties responsible for creating the set and including unapproved items for our Spring 23 campaign pH๏τo shoot,” the statement continued. “We strongly condemn abuse of children in any form. We stand for children’s safety and well-being.”
