Fashion label Burberry apologizes for ‘suicide’ hoodie

Burberry apologized after a hoodie with ropes resembling a noose was featured in a catwalk event at London Fashion Week.

“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 emailed to CNBC.

“Though the design was inspired by the marine theme that ran throughout the collection, it was insensitive and we made a mistake.”

He added that Burberry would “reflect on this, learn from it, and put in place all necessary actions to ensure it does not happen again.”

The hoodie was one of the items unveiled in the Tempest collection in a show presented by Burberry’s Chief Creative Officer Riccardo Tisci on Sunday. It has since been removed from the collection.

Criticism from Liz Kennedy — one of the British fashion house’s own models — led to online backlash. Kennedy blasted the brand in an Instagram post this week, saying that “suicide is not fashion.”

“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,” she said. “How could anyone overlook this and think it would be okay to do this especially in a line dedicated to young girls and youth.”

In an emailed statement, Tisci said we was “deeply sorry for the distress” caused by the hoodie. 

“While the design was inspired by a nautical theme, I realize that it was insensitive,” he said. “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.”