Burberry has apologized for a hoodie that was debuted Sunday at London Fashion Week featuring a noose hanging around the model’s neck, and they have removed the product and all images of the outfit.
“We are deeply sorry for the distress caused by one of the products that featured in our A/W 2019 runway collection Tempest,” Burberry CEO Marco Gobbetti said in a statement obtained by TheWrap.
Model Liz Kennedy was one of the first to call out Burberry and designer Riccardo Tisci for the hoodie in a lengthy Instagram post, saying that “suicide is not fashion” nor “not glamorous nor edgy.” She further criticized Tisci because he had dedicated the autumn and winter line to the youth expressing their voice.
“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,”Gobbetti continued. “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.”
Tisci, Burberry’s Chief Creative Officer and the designer of the line, also apologized in a statement.
“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,” Tisci said. “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.”
Tisci’s line, titled “Tempest,” debuted on Sunday at London Fashion Week and was modeled by Gigi Hadid, Irina Shayk and others. Kennedy was not featured in the Burberry presentation, but she said she overheard other models and designers backstage dismissing the design and downplaying what she said are her own past struggles with suicide in her family.
“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,’” Kennedy continued. “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.”
See Kennedy’s full statement on Instagram below, along with an image of the hoodie.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt_e9OpgGG3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link