Burberry in London Fashion Week apology after model complains over 'noose' hoodie
Burberry has apologised and removed a "noose" from its collection after a model who walked in its London Fashion Week show complained of being "triggered" by the accessory.
Model Liz Kennedy spoke of her shock at being confronted by the knotted rope during her fitting for the show on Sunday.
Although her management has confirmed she was never asked to wear it, she said she was "ashamed to have been a part of the show."
“Suicide is not fashion,” she posted, next to a picture of the hoodie, which featured a noose. “It is not glamorous nor edgy.”
The London-based model wrote that she was disappointed the item featured, particularly since Burberry designer Riccardo Tisci had dedicated the show to girls and young women.
She said: "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 post shared by �� (@liz.kennedy_) on Feb 17, 2019 at 9:51am PST
"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."
After she publicly complained, all promotional material featuring the noose was removed from Burberry's website and social media feeds.
Riccardo Tisci apologised in a statement, writing: “I am so deeply sorry for the distress that has been caused as a result of one of the pieces in my show on Sunday.
"While the design was inspired by a nautical theme, I realize that it was insensitive. It was never my intention to upset anyone. 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.”
Burberry CEO Marco Gobbetti added: “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 apologize 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.”