Burberry apologizes for featuring hoodie with a noose in new collection: 'Suicide is not fashion'

Burberry, a London-based luxury designer house, apologized for featuring a hoodie with a noose in its latest fashion collection.

The hoodie didn't go unnoticed, and Burberry model Liz Kennedy handed down a scathing assessment of the fashion house for its inclusion of the offending article of clothing in its latest show.

What are the details?

Kennedy took aim at the hoodie sweatshirt, which debuted during London Fashion Week.

In a lengthy Instagram post, Kennedy revealed how she'd expressed her concerns over the hoodie prior to its show debut, but was dismissed. She also said the sweatshirt brought up painful memories of a suicide in her own family.

Kennedy wrote:

Suicide is not fashion. 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. A massive brand like Burberry who is typically considered commercial and classy should not have overlooked such an obvious resemblance. 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. 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. 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. A look so ignorantly put together and a situation so poorly handled. I am ashamed to have been apart of the show. #burberry. I did not post this to disrespect the designer or the brand but to simply express an issue I feel very passionate about.

What did the company say in response to the outrage?

Burberry CEO Marco Gobbetti told Fortune in a statement that the company is sorry for the hurt and offense that the article of clothing may have caused.

"We are deeply sorry for the distress caused by one of the products that featured in our A/W 2019 runway collection Tempest," his statement said.

Gobbetti added, "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," Gobetti's statement concluded. "We will reflect on this, learn from it and put in place all necessary actions to ensure it does not happen again."

Is Burberry Promoting Suicide? | Liz Kennedy Speaks Upwww.youtube.com