A fashion stylist connected to haute-couture fashion house Balenciaga broke her silence after being accused of posting images featuring graphic violence against children.
Lotta Volkova worked hand-in-hand with Balenciaga’s creative director Demna Gvasalia until 2017 and was forced to set her Instagram account to ‘private’ after facing backlash over the images she posted to social media, according to Newsweek.
Tweets directing attention to her photographs went viral as fans called out the label and its celebrity supporters, demanding answers and calling for Volkova to face consequences.
The stylist’s social media pages came under scrutiny after Balenciaga shared a controversial ad campaign that featured children holding stuffed bears dressed in BDSM gear and a partially hidden printout of a Supreme Court case dealing with child pornography. The fashion label has since announced a $25 million lawsuit against the production company responsible for the ads.
T/W: These are shocking posts from Balenciagas stylist Lotta Volkova who has a sick obsession with torture, satan & child Mutilation
These pics are beyond shocking but there are far worse on her Instagram which I won’t share
Notice a common theme with the brand now? #balenciaga pic.twitter.com/Wet0kKf5p8
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) November 27, 2022
On Volkova’s Instagram page, fans uncovered scenes of violence and Satanic imagery, much of it involving children, although it remains unclear if Volkova photographed the images herself or just shared them to her online profile, according to Newsweek. Volkova’s representative spoke on her behalf, saying “she condemns the abuse of children in any form,” according to the outlet.
The spokesperson also told Newsweek that Volkova “has not worked with Balenciaga or its team since 2017 and she has in no way participated in the brand’s recent Instagram or advertising campaigns.” (RELATED: Balenciaga Takes Paris Back To The Trenches Of WWI)
Here is Lotta Volkova a top designer for Balenciaga And Adidas pic.twitter.com/zBnuJ6MdUh
— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) November 28, 2022
Images included a dead child lying in a field with her chest ripped open and her entrails falling to the grass, a young boy holding up a human skull and a bedroom with bullets and bloody rags strewn across the floor. A photo Volkova allegedly posted in 2015 featured a teddy bear with red threads wrapped around it in what appears to be the shape of a bondage harness, anticipating the later Balenciaga ad.
I have been quiet for the past few days, not because I haven’t been disgusted 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.
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) November 27, 2022
She has since set her account to private.