Burberry apologizes for sweatshirt featuring ‘noose’ around model’s neck

Fashion designer Burberry has apologized amid backlash over an item in its new collection that resembled a noose around a model’s neck.

The designer removed the sweatshirt from its Autumn/Winter 2019 runway collection after criticism following a show at London Fashion Week on Sunday.

Model Liz Kennedy harshly criticized the sweatshirt on Instagram, writing that she was “ashamed” to have been part of the designer’s show.

“Suicide is not fashion,” she wrote. “How could anyone overlook this and think it would be okay to do this especially in a line dedicated to young girls and youth.”

View this post on Instagram

@burberry @riccardotisci17 Suicide is not fashion. It is not glamorous nor edgy and since this show is dedicated to the youth expressing their voice, here I go. Riccardo Tisci and everyone at Burberry it is beyond me how you could let a look resembling a noose hanging from a neck out on the runway. How could anyone overlook this and think it would be okay to do this especially in a line dedicated to young girls and youth. The impressionable youth. Not to mention the rising suicide rates world wide. Let’s not forget about the horrifying history of lynching either. There are hundreds of ways to tie a rope and they chose to tie it like a noose completely ignoring the fact that it was hanging around a neck. A massive brand like Burberry who is typically considered commercial and classy should not have overlooked such an obvious resemblance. I left my fitting extremely triggered after seeing this look. Feeling as though I was right back where I was when I was going through an experience with suicide in my family. Also to add in they briefly hung one from the ceiling (trying to figure out the knot) and were laughing about it in the dressing room. I had asked to speak to someone about it but the only thing I was told to do was to write a letter. I had a brief conversation with someone but all that it entailed was “it’s fashion. Nobody cares about what’s going on in your personal life so just keep it to yourself” well I’m sorry but this is an issue bigger than myself. The issue is not about me being upset, there is a bigger picture here of what fashion turns a blind eye to or does to gain publicity. A look so ignorantly put together and a situation so poorly handled. I am ashamed to have been apart of the show. #burberry. I did not post this to disrespect the designer or the brand but to simply express an issue I feel very passionate about.

A post shared by (@liz.kennedy_) on Feb 17, 2019 at 9:51am PST

Burberry CEO Marco Gobbetti said in a statement that the design was intended to represent the collection’s “marine theme,” according to HuffPost UK.

“We are deeply sorry for the distress caused by one of the products that featured in our A/W 2019 runway collection Tempest,” the statement said. “It was insensitive and we made a mistake.” 

{mosads}Kennedy also pointed to “the horrifying history of lynching” in her Instagram post, and said she felt “extremely triggered” because of her personal experience with suicide in her family.

“There are hundreds of ways to tie a rope and they chose to tie it like a noose completely ignoring the fact that it was hanging around a neck,” Kennedy wrote. “A massive brand like Burberry who is typically considered commercial and classy should not have overlooked such an obvious resemblance.”

Kennedy claimed that she tried to address the issue with someone at the show, but was told “Nobody cares about what’s going on in your personal life so just keep it to yourself.”

Burberry is the latest high fashion house to apologize for insensitivity in its designs. Earlier this month, Gucci apologized and pulled a sweater resembling blackface from its collection. And Prada vowed to form a “diversity council” after accusations of racism in its products.