Embattled French fashion house Balenciaga has tried to put its BDSM- and child sexual solicitation scandals behind it, launching a new augmented reality (AR) farming experience.
The new AR experience can be accessed through phones or tablets and instructs the user to choose a character — decked out in Balenciaga streetwear and $1,000+ Triple S sneakers, of course — who then can play alfalfa and brassica seeds to grow food.
Users are promised to learn about the significance of crop rotation, composting and agricultural waste, in a bid to increase awareness.
Alongside the virtual experience, Balenciaga said it plans to invest in eDNA, a tech that measures and monitors the level of biodiversity in the environment. There is also a project using eDNA that aims to restore the ecological balance of the Occitanie region in Southwestern France.
The move is a far cry from Balenciaga’s old campaigns which featured high fashion models and (as well as children) in very outlandish get-ups. However, the proverbial really did hit the fan late last year when it featured images like this in its Christmas campaign:
Celebrities, including the likes of former brand ambassador Kim Kardashian, jumped ship quickly and the brand deleted all its social media accounts. Maybe this new green-fingered campaign will help it turn over a new leaf.
