Burberry apologizes for sweatshirt featuring a noose around the neckline

After a model called Burberry out for showing a sweatshirt with a noose around the neckline during London Fashion Week, the luxury brand announced on Tuesday that the item has been removed from its latest collection.

The sweatshirt was part of Burberry's "Tempest" line, for autumn/winter 2019. Model Liz Kennedy saw the sweatshirt while getting ready to walk in Sunday's runway show, and was disturbed. "Suicide is not fashion," she wrote in an Instagram post. "It is not glamorous nor edgy. 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."

Burberry CEO Marco Gobbetti and Chief Creative Officer Riccardo Tisci both apologized, and Gobbetti released a statement saying the company is "deeply sorry" for the "distress" caused by the sweatshirt. "Though the design was inspired by the marine theme that ran throughout the collection, it was insensitive and we made a mistake," he said.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up