Kim Kardashian is a blonde bombshell resembling Marilyn Monroe in new Balenciaga ad... 2 years after BDSM child photo controversy
Kim Kardashian was seen in a new ad for Balenciaga that dropped on Thursday.
The Keeping Up With The Kardashians veteran is fronting the new Characters campaign with Naomi Watts and Isabelle Huppert.
The 43-year-old reality TV trailblazer wore her hair short and white blonde making her resemble iconic Hollywood Golden Age siren Marilyn Monroe.
The beauty was sitting in a chair as she looked made up for a power party. She wore a ruby red dress with a black coat over her shoulders and black socks with leopard print high heels.
The ex of Kanye West held onto a black purse.
Kim Kardashian was seen in a new ad for Balenciaga that dropped on Thursday. The Keeping Up With The Kardashians veteran is fronting the new Characters campaign with Naomi Watts and Isabelle Huppert
The 43-year-old reality TV trailblazer wore her hair short and white blonde making her resemble iconic Hollywood Golden Age siren Marilyn Monroe. Seen in 1953
The shoot was by photographer Nadav Kander.
Each star presents a 'unique character' while showcasing the iconic Rodeo Bag, according to a press release.
In addition to Kim, French actress Huppert and Oscar winner Watts were also seen sitting in chairs.
Kardashian has had a long history with the French fashion house founded by a Spanish designer.
She was in the fashion house's fall 2022 campaign.
She was famously introduced to Balenciaga Creative Director Demna Gvasalia by her ex, West with the couple's daughters also sporting the brand, too, having recently been spotted carrying four-figure bags from the brand.
She acknowledged the role her ex-husband had played in the relationship in December 2021 as she spoke at the People's Choice Awards where she accepted an award for fashion.
'To Kanye, for really introducing me to the fashion world,' she said. 'I fell in love with fashion and I'm so inspired by so many people. But again, this is like a dream that I get to wake up and wear these amazing clothes and try new things and take a risk. I'm so humbled.'
The beauty was sitting in a chair as she looked made up for a power party
Naomi Watts was also part of the new campaign called Characters
At the time, Vogue described it as 'the peak of Kardashian’s Balenciaga moment.'
In July 2022, Kardashian walked the catwalk and modeled for the brand at Paris Fashion Week.
She was seen wearing the brand as recently as last week as she sported a wearing Adidas x Balenciaga collaboration top, two of the designers who dropped her ex West, 45, after his recent anti-Semitic rants.
She wore a top from the two designer's collaboration, a long-sleeve black shirt with white stripes on the sleeve and the names of the brands placed in the center of the chest.
Here she is seen in an older ad for the French fashion house
Kardashian wore the same dress alongside Hailey Baldwin and Kendall Jenner at the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party
Also in 2022, she declined a campaign offer from Balenciaga before breaking her silence on the BDSM child photo controversy.
The star had denied an offer from the brand and ditched outfits that she was set to wear at upcoming events according to sources from TMZ.
According to insiders for the publication, the Spain-based high fashion label had given the mother-of-four a proposal to do a 2023 campaign before the controversial ads went public.
However, it is claimed that after the images were posted online Kim had made the choice to reject the offer before ever making a public statement.
It doesn't end there as TMZ sources also claim that Kim had plans to wear Balenciaga ensembles at events she was set to attend in the next few months but has called an audible and has been in contact with other designers for alternative looks.
Kim was in a blonde phase earlier this year but had dark roots
Kim was at the center of controversy after not immediately cutting ties with the brand as she instead said she was 're-evaluating' her relationship with the brand after finally breaking her silence with a social media statement on Sunday.
The star said that while she was 'shaken' and 'disgusted' to see the images in the controversial ad campaign, she had wanted to speak with officials at the designer to understand how it came to be.
Clearly embarrassed by their ill-judged campaign, Balenciaga took the drastic step of wiping its social media pages clean before releasing another statement on Monday morning.
'I have been quiet for the past few days, not because I haven't been shocked and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns, but because I wanted an opportunity to speak to their team to understand for myself how this could have happened,' the Los Angeles-born celebrity said in a statement on her Instagram page.
She continued: 'As a mother of four, I have been shaken by those disturbing images. The safety of children must be held with the highest regard and anything against it should have no place in our society - period.'
She subsequently reissued the statement that saw some of the wording changed using stronger language adding: 'any attempts to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society - period.'
Balenciaga made a bad choice in 2022. Among the clothing worn by the children's toys in the ads are fishnet stockings, chokers, string vests and chains leading to many on social media to refer to it as 'child porn' and 'disturbing'
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, which Twitter's own fact-checkers confirmed
However, on balance, Kardashian said that she is comfortable with how the company reacted to the scandal.
'I appreciate Balenciaga's removal of the campaigns and apology. In speaking with them, I believe they understand the seriousness of the issue and will take the necessary measures for this to never happen again.'
In an additional post, to both Instagram and Twitter, Kardashian said she was reconsidering her relationship with the fashion brand but had not yet many any firm decisions.
'As for my future with Balenciaga, I am currently re-evaluating my relationship with the brand, basing it off 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.'
