Balenciaga leaves Twitter following Elon Musk takeover

Balenciaga has become the first major fashion brand to depart Twitter, following Elon Musk’s $44bn takeover.

Major corporations such as Dyson and General Motors have already suspended advertising campaigns, leaving Musk sweating over the network’s finances. Meanwhile, celebrities including Gigi Hadid have left the platform with the supermodel citing “new leadership” and “a cesspool of hate and bigotry” which she does “not want to be a part of.”

Companies and user’s raised concerns that Musk’s plans for mass layoffs and his focus on promoting free speech will lead to looser moderation of content on the site – which could make it more difficult for advertisers to avoid being linked with hate speech and misinformation.

Twitter has always been a significant source of buzz for Demna’s Balenciaga, with the creative director often sparking conversations with controversial designs on the site. Who could forget the uproar over the $1,790 leather trash bags or the divisive Crocs stilettos? 

Balenciaga’s Twitter account had as many as 950,000 followers before the announcement, with its most recent tweets promoting its new collaboration with Adidas.

The move comes after the Kering-owned brand announced they would no longer be working with Kanye West following his anti-semitic comments and hate-driven speech.