Balenciaga store in Paris targeted by graffiti artist Kidult

By

Olivier Guyot

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jan 6, 2020

The word ‘Crisis’ is tagged across the entire length of the two huge shop windows of the Balenciaga flagship at 336 rue Saint-Honoré, in the heart of Paris. Spray-painted using a fire extinguisher for Christmas, it follows the word ‘Merry’ in red paint, completing the seasonal greeting.

The deed was done on the night before Christmas, and responsibility was claimed on social media by street artist Kidult. In the early 2010s, Kidult became famous by tagging the shop windows of luxury stores using a fire extinguisher. He specifically targeted labels he regarded as guilty of plundering street culture. Maison Margiela, Philipp Plein, Louboutin and Agnès B stores were tagged by Kidult at the time.

For Christmas 2019, Kidult turned his attention to Balenciaga, the label by Creative Director Demna Gvasalia, which designed a handbag featuring street art iconography. During the year-end festivities, the label was not available to comment on the incident.

Kidult’s Instagram post was captioned “Wishing to the earth a merry Crisis. More Lucidity and Humanity. Less Hypocrisy and Ignorance.”