Given all of the fashion controversies that have transpired over the past couple of weeks, one might assume that designers would be particularly concerned about putting out potentially offensive pieces right now. Of course, one would be wrong. According to the Huffington Post UK, Burberry sent a model down the runway wearing a hoodie with a “noose hanging from its neck” last week.
The offending garment was “a brown hoodie with rope ties knotted below the neckline.” Naturally — and justifiably — people were pissed. Model Liz Kennedy, who walked in the show, wrote “Suicide is not fashion. It is not glamorous nor edgy,” and also noted the “‘horrifying history’ of racial lynching in the US,” making this one doubly offensive.
“How could anyone overlook this and think it would be okay to do this especially in a line dedicated to young girls and youth,” she added.
In response to the criticism, CEO Marco Gobbetti said, “Though the design was inspired by the marine theme that ran throughout the collection, it was insensitive and we made a mistake.”
The hoodie’s designer, Burberry’s Chief Creative Officer, Ricardo Tisci, said he was “‘deeply sorry for the distress that has been caused’ and added he will make sure it does not happen again.” Which I can only assume means he wrote “don’t make another noose hoodie” on a post-it and stuck it to his computer.
If this were a one-person operation, allowing this look into a show would be gross and indefensible, but the fact that an entire chain of people saw this and apparently let out a collective shrug is verging into the absurd.
At this rate, some designer is bound to send a model down the runway in a pointy white hood before the year is through.
You can read more about it at HuffPo UK.
