Balenciaga has apologised following criticism of a recent ad campaign that depicted children holding teddy bears dressed in bondage gear and an image of a Supreme Court decision on a child pornography case.

The bondage teddy bear purses first appeared at Balenciaga's Spring 2023 runway show in Paris last October, when models with bruised cheeks and bloodied noses carried the teddy bears down the runway.Their former partner, Kanye West, also made his modelling debut on Balenciaga's mud-track runway. Still, the premium fashion house has since terminated all connections with the musician following his antisemitic statements.

The French fashion house shared a message on its Instagram account on Tuesday the statement followed "We sincerely apologise for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused"

The statement continued -  "Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms."

The shoot, sprayed across Balenciaga's site as a part of its 'Toy Stories' campaign included child models posing with the brand's teddy bear handbags from the Spring/Summer 2023 Paris Fashion Week collection.

Critics, however, pointed out that the plush toys looked to be clothed in bondage and BDSM attire, such as fishnet tops, studded leather harnesses, and collars with locks.

In addition, followers noticed that the campaign featured a Supreme Court opinion in a virtual child pornography case as a prop promoting a handbag.

The court documents shown are from the 2008 Supreme Court decision, United States v Williams, which criminalised child pornography peddling. The verdict upheld the validity of the PROTECT Act, a federal statute that raised punishments for child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Balenciaga apologised for using court records in the ad campaign in a separate message on their Instagram account. "We apologise for displaying unsettling documents in our campaign, the statement read. They added - "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 photoshoot."