On December 11th, a Georgian-language Facebook account published photos of clothing and accessories designed to resemble human skin, claiming that these items were made by Balenciaga from human skin.
The disseminated photos have nothing to do with Balenciaga or human skin. In fact, most of the clothing and accessories with human skin visuals were produced by an artist named Kayla Arena and are made of silicone and latex. One of the photos is taken from the website of the satirical shop Urban Outraged, which is protesting the use of animal skins and fur by clothing brands.
The clothing that resembles human skin, the photos of which are accompanied by the Balenciaga logo, has no connection to the fashion brand. These and similar photos can be found on the Instagram page of Kayla Arena since 2015, and the original photos do not feature the Balenciaga logo.
Kayla Arena is a make-up and special effects artist for films and television, and these works belong to her.
Kayla’s work is for sale on her website, butterflyfxstudios.com, including the coat that was claimed to be made by Balenciaga. Below the photo of the jacket, it is noted that it is made of latex and painted with silicone paints.
Kayla Arena’s jacket and other similar designs are included in the “Ed Gein-Inspired Creations” list. Ed Gein was a serial killer living in Wisconsin in the 20th century. Gein made various items from the skin of his victims and also stole corpses from cemeteries.
One of the photos published in the post shows a dress, jacket and shoes with the visuals of human skin. These items are from a satirical shop by an organization called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
The shop “Urban Outraged” “sells” items made from “human body parts,” which resemble human skin. In fact, this is part of a campaign that aims to criticize clothing brands that still use animal leather and fur to make their products.
Disinformation related to the “clothing made from human skin” has been verified by “Myth Detector” in the past as well. According to a journalist of a blatantly anti-liberal Georgian newspaper, “Asaval-Dasavali, England-based company Human Leather used to produce clothing from human skin. For more information, see our article:
For more on the mis- and disinformation related to Balenciaga and its creative director, Demna Gvasalia, see:
- Conspiracy as if BALENCIAGA’s Mud Show is Linked to the Graphene Oxide
- Altered Cover of ELLE Magazine to Discredit Demna Gvasalia
- Page Affiliated with Pro-Governmental Media Fabricates Demna Gvasalia’s T-Shirt
Notably, the Spanish fashion house BALENCIAGA became a target of vast criticism after the photos of the November 2022 photoshoot became public. The photo shoot featured children carrying teddy bear-shaped handbags from Balenciaga’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection. In the photos, the bears have blackened eyes and are dressed in leather accessories. The footage also showed documents of court decisions regarding child pornography. The brand apologized for the fact and noted that they condemn violence against children in any form.
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