Burberry apologises for promoting a hoodie with a noose around the neck

Burberry has apologised for a hoodie with a noose around the neck at London Fashion Week after mass criticism online over the racial and mental health connotations of the item of clothing.

The fashion brand was in hot water after one of their designs, which was featured in the fashion show, looked a lot like a noose tied around someone’s neck.

The Chief creative officer for Burberry, Riccardo Tisci initially wrote an excited Instagram post featuring controversial hoodie.

The post which has since been deleted said:

I dedicate this show to the youth of today, to them having the courage to scream for what they believe in, for them to find the beauty in expressing their voice. I will be forever grateful to London for being the city that opened my eyes and gave me the freedom when I was young to discover who I truly am.

The noose design didn’t go down well when it appeared on social media, and one of Burberry's own models, Liz Kennedy, led the charge in calling it out. “Suicide is not fashion,” she began in a lengthy Instagram post.

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.

She added that she initially tried to address the issue backstage after her fitting, but was told to "write a letter" if she had concerns.

I left my fitting extremely triggered after seeing this look (even though I did not wear it myself). 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.

People swiftly responded to the garment with fury

Others are done with brands using shocking, often racist imagery - which many see as an intentional marketing strategy

Burberry joins a growing list of high fashion brands who have recently been forced to apologise and remove products with racist connotations. There was Gucci, who pulled a turtleneck which resembled blackface and Prada was forced to apologise following Blackface purse decorations/

In a statement to The Independent,Burberry CEO Marco Gobbetti said: “We are deeply sorry for the distress caused by one of the products that featured in our A/W 2019 runway collection Tempest.

“I called Ms Kennedy to apologise as soon as I became aware of this on Monday and we immediately removed the product and all images that featured it.

Though the design was inspired by the marine theme that ran throughout the collection, it was insensitive and we made a mistake. The experience Ms Kennedy describes does not reflect who we are and our values. We will reflect on this, learn from it and put in place all necessary actions to ensure it does not happen again.

“It was never my intention to upset anyone,” Tisci said. “It does not reflect my values nor Burberry’s and we have removed it from the collection.

“I will make sure that this does not happen again.”

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