Burberry Apologizes For Hoodie With Noose Around The Neck Worn By Model Liz Kennedy, Celebrities React

After backlash surrounding one of their designs displayed at London Fashion Week that featured a noose around the neck of a hoodie, the fashion brand Burberry has issued an apology.

“We are deeply sorry for the distress caused by one of the products that featured in our A/W 2019 runway collection,” Marco Gobbetti, Burberry’s CEO, said in a statement. “Though the design was inspired by the marine theme that ran throughout the collection, it was insensitive and we made a mistake. [Burberry will] reflect on this, learn from it, and put in place all necessary actions to ensure it does not happen again.”

The hoodie, which was worn by model Liz Kennedy during Burberry’s show on Sunday, caused an uproar after its reveal, led by the model herself. In an emotional Instagram post, Kennedy shared that she had been triggered by the design but had been ignored when she asked her bosses to remove it from the collection. “Suicide is not fashion,” Kennedy said, while also linking the design to the “the horrifying history of lynching” of African-Americans in the United States.

Riccardo Tisci, Burberry’s Chief Creative Officer, who was responsible for Sunday’s show, also issued a public apology. “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,” he said in a statement.  But not everyone was quick to forgive the designer or the brand he represented.

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Occurring just weeks after Katy Perry was accused of designing shoes that resembled blackface, comedian Whitney Cummings took to Twitter to question the fashion industry’s seeming insensitivity to racism. Fellow comedian Wanda Sykes also critiqued the brand, calling out the “assholes” in the fashion industry for making the “worst Black History Month ever.”

Meanwhile, rapper T.I. has chosen to boycott the Burberry brand, as he has done already with Gucci, Prada and Moncler for their previous displays of racist designs. In a post to his Instagram account, the rapper claimed that the prevalence of these designs in the fashion industry can’t be a coincidence.

The hoodie in question has been removed from Burberry’s line as of Tuesday.