Burberry 'Deeply Sorry' for Hoodie With Noose

'Suicide is not fashion,' model says
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 20, 2019 1:21 AM CST
Burberry 'Deeply Sorry' for Hoodie With Noose Knot
This Feb. 17, 2019 photo shows a model wearing a creation by Burberry at the Autumn/Winter 2019 fashion week runway show in London.   (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

The chief executive and chief creative officer of luxury fashion powerhouse Burberry have apologized for putting a hoodie with strings tied in the shape of a noose on their London Fashion Week runway. The knotted strings surfaced after Sunday's show when a model hired to walk (but not wear the outfit) complained both before the show and on Instagram, saying the noose not only evoked lynchings but also suicide, the AP reports. Marco Gobbetti, the brand's CEO, said in a statement Tuesday that Burberry is "deeply sorry for the distress" the top has caused and has removed it from the autumn-winter collection, along with all images featuring the look.

Riccardo Tisci, Burberry's creative director, also apologized, saying "while the design was inspired by a nautical theme, I realize that it was insensitive." Model Liz Kennedy took to Instagram the day of the show, posting a photo of the hoodie with a long message directed at Burberry and Tisci. "Suicide is not fashion," she wrote. "It is not glamorous nor edgy .... 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." She added, "Let's not forget about the horrifying history of lynching either."

(More fashion stories.)

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