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A fashion stylist linked to designer label Balenciaga has broken her silence after being forced to set her Instagram to private once she received backlash over her posts.
Russian-born Lotta Volkova worked alongside Balenciaga's creative director Demna Gvasalia at the Spanish label until 2018, and also the brand he co-created, Vetements.
She made her Instagram private after some tweets criticizing her Instagram posts went viral.
It comes amid ongoing controversy around two photoshoots Balenciaga released for two new lines, which many dubbed as "child porn."
One of the campaigns featured a photo of a child holding a Balenciaga teddy bear bag. The teddy bear was wearing BDSM clothing, including a stud collar, harness and fishnet stockings.
The photoshoot for its collaboration with Adidas featured a handbag resting on some papers, including a page from the 2008 Supreme Court ruling United States vs. Williams.
The court upheld 2003 federal laws which criminalized advertising, promoting, presenting or distributing child pornography. The original petition to the court questioned whether that law curtailed First Amendment freedom of speech rights.
Following the backlash some people dug up content of several former and current staff at Balenciaga, including Volkova.
Christian commentator Oli London took four posts from her Instagram which portrayed scenes of violence and Satanic images.
It is not known if the images were styled by Volkova or simply shared to her Instagram.
However, a spokesperson for the fashion professional told Newsweek "she condemns the abuse of children in any form."
"Lotta Volkova has not worked with Balenciaga or its team since 2018 and she has in no way participated in the brand's recent Instagram or advertising campaigns," the spokesperson told Newsweek.
The images shared by London included one of a woman who is nude from the waist down, lying on a pentagram on the floor where she is tied up by rope.
A satanic-looking figure sits on a pentagram-shaped throne at her head, also nude from the waist down, with smoke coming out of his upturned hands.
Volkova tagged anonymous Instagrammer, @Le__Dauphin, in the post. That Instagram account has become known for its dark satire and resharing long-forgotten key fashion moments in history.
Another image showed a young boy holding up a human skull and whose image was surrounded by a red frame featuring all the star sign symbols from the Astrological chart.
A third post was of a dead woman lying in a field with her front ripped open and entrails trailing out on to the grass in front of her.
In the image which almost looked like a painting, Volkova tagged her fellow stylist, Cyril Drapier using his Instagram handle, @jeantheresin_.
Finally, London shared an image of a retro looking bedroom covered in blood, bullets and broken glass. She tagged London-based creative director, Alban Adam, writing in the caption "#thatkindamorning."
Born in Vladivostock in Russia in 1984, Volkova moved to London when she was 17 to study fashion at the Central Saint Martins college.
Two years later she established a ripped jeans company called Lotta Skeletrix before trying her hand at styling.
It was there she found fame within the fashion world and along with Balenciaga worked with some of the biggest names in the industry such as, Jean Paul Gaultier and Blumarine.
Vogue magazine described her as the "coolest stylist in the industry" with Dazed referring to Volkova as fashion's "fave it girl."
Newsweek has reached out to Balenciaga and Vetements for comment.
This article was updated on 11/30/2022 at 3:06 a.m. ET after Lotta Volkova's spokesperson clarified the year Volkova stopped working at Balenciaga.
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more