Burberry apologises for featuring hoodie with noose design in fashion show

British fashion brand Burberry has apologised for featuring a hoodie with a noose design around the neck at London Fashion Week. On Sunday during London Fashion Week, Burberry’s designer Riccardo Tisci debuted a nautical-themed fall/winter 2019 runway show in which a model wore a brown hoodie with ties at the neck that resembled a noose. The apology came in after the design was criticised on Instagram by Liz Kennedy - one of Burberry’s own models - which led to an online backlash. She stated in her Instagram post: "Suicide is not fashion. It is not glamorous nor edgy. … [chief creative officer] 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?” CNBC reported on the company response from Marco Gobbetti, Burberry's CEO, who said, "We are deeply sorry for the distress caused by one of the products that featured in our A/W 2019 runway collection." He added that the brand has 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. We will reflect on this, learn from it and put in place all necessary actions to ensure it does not happen again." Tisci also apologized in a statement to Highsnobiety saying, “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. 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.” This is the latest in a series of criticisms levelled at fashion brands this month for releasing designs which have been considered insensitive. Gucci pulled a woollen jumper from sale after it was criticised for "resembling blackface". Burberry’s CNY campaign was also recently criticised for portraying ghost-like models, which was not deemed by some to match with the festive spirit.