Burberry has joined European designer brands Gucci and Prada in not only offending the Black community but also making suicide seem to look like a cool fashion statement.
Over the weekend, Burberry debuted a hoodie with a noose hanging from the neck at London Fashion Week.
The design was brought to the attention of many when model Liz Kennedy called out the label for evoking suicide in the name of fashion.
She shared the design on Instagram with an outraged message to Burberry and its chief creative officer, Riccardo Tisci, saying, ” 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.”
Kennedy also added: “Let’s not forget about the horrifying history of lynching either.”
You can read her full post down below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt_e9OpgGG3/
Many responded to her post — some in support, some with criticism.
One person wrote, “Stand up stand out bravo.”
While another posted, “Lmao a noose does not represent suicide, honey. It represents MURDER. It represents the genocide of BLACK AMERICANS. But cool publicity stunt.”
“I have had two close friends kill themselves… one friend hung herself! @burbuerry,” another commented. “Probably The most disgusting thing I’ve seen.”
No matter what side of the argument you take, this was a clear misstep on the part of many in the company.
Burberry has now issued an apology for its noose hoodie, which appeared on the runway after receiving widespread backlash.
“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 chief executive officer, said in a statement to CNN.
Rapper T.I., who has led the charge in calling out designers, including Gucci, Prada and Moncler, took to Instagram, saying, “These aren’t coincidences.”
We will continue to encourage you to support Black designers now and even long after these situations have blown over.
