Balenciaga is quietly rewriting its social media playbook. After wiping its feeds in the wake of the 2022 ad scandal and pulling back from the spotlight, the fashion house has returned to Instagram with a surprisingly upbeat holiday campaign, built around gem-encrusted bags, sparkly shoes, and candy-colored minis, rather than its usual dystopian black “doom-core” aesthetic.
From scandal to social silence
In November 2022, Balenciaga faced global backlash over two campaigns: a holiday “Gift Shop” shoot that showed children holding plush bear bags styled with harness-like straps, and a separate office-themed images set that included legal documents referencing a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on child pornography laws. Both campaigns ran on Instagram, where outrage escalated rapidly and spilled into mainstream news, sparking boycotts and the viral **#cancellenciaga hashtag.
The brand pulled the ads, issued formal apologies, and initially filed a 25 million U.S. dollar lawsuit against production partners before dropping the case and publicly taking responsibility for what its leadership later described as “a series of grave mistakes” in judgment and oversight. In the months that followed, Balenciaga sharply reduced its advertising presence, overhauled internal image-approval processes, and entered a multi-year partnership with child-protection organizations as part of its remediation efforts.
A softer visual reset
Against that backdrop, the brand’s reappearance on Instagram with a cheerful holiday drop marks a clear departure from the bleak, post-apocalyptic sets and distressed “trash-core” styling that defined its pre-scandal aesthetic. Instead of muddy palettes and piles of snow or mud, the new posts spotlight bright, giftable products: gem-encrusted handbags, glittered heels, and compact, color-pop mini bags designed to photograph cleanly in a grid and feel clearly “holiday” at a glance.
Strategic timing for the holidays
The timing of the comeback is no accident. Analysts note that the fallout from 2022 pressured Balenciaga’s sales and ranking in key luxury indexes, even as the wider sector continued to grow. Re-entering Instagram with a festive accessories push in Q4 allows the house to reconnect with aspirational customers at the very moment they are searching for gifts and party looks, without anchoring the narrative in runway controversy or celebrity scandal.
At the same time, the choice to restart with product-focused images rather than conceptual campaigns suggests a more cautious, incremental approach to rebuilding trust. The messaging feels closer to classic luxury marketing,—glossy, celebratory, straightforward—than to the boundary-pushing visuals that previously made Balenciaga the “hottest” brand on many fashion rankings before the crisis.
Mixed reactions from fans
Early social chatter around the new holiday imagery reflects a split in the brand’s audience. Some shoppers and commentators see the return of bright colour, gems, and playful minis as a welcome change of mood and a logical way to make the house feel more approachable again after a bruising two years. For these fans, festive accessories serve as a confidence signal: a sign that Balenciaga is ready to move past apology statements and return to the business of selling desire.
What this means for luxury marketing
For other luxury brands, Balenciaga’s Instagram return is a live case study in post-crisis image management. The arc from scandal, to withdrawal, to carefully calibrated re-entry, complete with process changes, public contrition, and a pivot toward safer product storytelling, illustrates how high the stakes have become for visual campaigns in the social era. It also shows that, even after intense calls for cancellation, celebrity support and strategic recalibration can slowly restore a label’s cultural footing.
Whether this latest holiday grid reads as a smart, consumer-centric reset or as a brand trying too hard to clean up its image will depend on who you ask. But one thing is clear: with its glittering bags and party-ready minis back on Instagram, Balenciaga is no longer sitting out the conversation, it is cautiously stepping back into it.
