and BDSM gear. Balenciaga later apologized after heavy criticism and removed all posts connected to the photo campaign. Meanwhile, the photographer, Gabriele Galimberti, said that both the children and the objects which appeared in the photos were all selected by Balenciaga. Hours later, Balenciaga apologized for a separate, earlier advertisement, in which a $3,000 Balenciaga handbag sits amongst papers which include the text from a Supreme Court opinion in the Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition child pornography case. Balenciaga announced that it was taking legal action against the production company North Six and set designer Nicholas Des Jardins, responsible for the advertisement with the child pornography court document, for $25 million. In response, the set designer's attorney said that Balenciaga representatives were present at the shoot, and handled the papers and props used. Balenciaga dropped their legal action on December 2. In another image, featuring the actress Isabelle Huppert, two art books can be seen in the background: one is based on The Cremaster Cycle (1994–2002) by the filmmaker Matthew Barney and one is As Sweet as It Gets (2014) by the Belgian painter Michaël Borremans. Some Twitter users tried to connect imagery from Barney's and Borremans' works to the court document, and based on this suggested there was a hidden message about child abuse in Balenciaga's marketing material. The use of controversial props by Balenciaga was seen by some as an attempt of shockvertising. In popular culture In the 1997 film For Richer or Poorer, Tim Allen's character accidentally sets a Balenciaga dress on fire. He tries laughing at it, rhetorically asking, "What the hell's a Balenciaga?" On January 29, 2014, the character Myrtle Snow cries "Balenciaga!" as her dying words on the season finale of FX television show American Horror Story: Coven. Film director Paul Thomas Anderson was inspired to make Phantom Thread when he became interested in the fashion industry after reading about designer Cristóbal Balenciaga. Balenciaga collaborated with The Simpsons to create a short film for Paris Fashion Week in 2021. In 2022, American rapper and pop singer Lizzo referenced Balenciaga in her number one hit “About Damn Time,” singing “Feeling fussy, walkin' in my Balenci-ussies. In 2022, singer Beyoncé released Renaissance. Her song Break My Soul “The Queen’s Remix" tracked with Madonna’s “Vogue” references “House of Balenciaga”. Creative directors Cristóbal Balenciaga – 1919 to 1968 Michel Goma – 1987 to 1992 Josephus Thimister – 1992