I found the article very interesting. I think the main issue is how she was treated when she felt triggered by it, and tried to complain- she was just brushed off. "It's fashion- nobody cares about what's going on in your personal life so just keep it to yourself"? So good on her for being brave. All of these recent examples have had people realise that what has happened in others' personal lives in history IS actually important!
I wondered at first before reading it properly if not only suicide but the many unjust hangings that will have happened in the past were of concern- and indeed she has thought of that as well.
I am glad that the wonderful people of this forum do actually care what is going on in other's personal lives and are supportive of one another.Thank you all.

Really ridiculous. These people are very far removed from reality, IMO.

Oh, my God... Some of these designers REALLY need to get out more.

I don’t understand how the approval process (assuming there is one) let’s these get through.

So utterly bad.

I have a strong suspicion that all this is made on purpose. Too often designers make things of bad taste, then the "bomb" explodes, everybody talks about them ... and they have reached their goal.

Well said, Jenni.

There are words, just ones I wouldn't use around children...bottom line is its inexcusable. Its not art, its a symbol of violence.
This comes out on the same day that this rotter newspaper editor in Alabama said the KKK needs to ride again. Its abhorrent and frightening.

What I don’t understand is how things get to this stage.ln order to appear on the catwalk like that ,that noose will have gone past many people.lt didn’t just leap from design board to model.Why did no one flag up that this might not be a good idea?It says a lot about the design company’s structure that either no one flagged it up,or no one listened when someone did flag it up or people were too scared to flag it up.Any of these is not a good way to run a company and Burberry needs to take a long hard look at its self and the way it’s business operates.

Suntiger, I took note of that too. I've becoming increasingly aware in the last two years of how far we as a society still have to go before true equality is achieved.

Honestly, I don't think designers will stop doing this crap until it hurts their profits. So don't expect me to buy anything of these designers in the near future.

Think some of the youngsters will love this-.... :-(( Then...thinking deeper wasn't our first ever reaction to a scull print the same--maybe we'll have to get used with.....

No, Lyn, it's not the same at all. Here in the US, the noose has a very strong and troubled association with lynching of black people. Skulls carry no such connotation.

I've thought before about how many of these design houses are in Europe and perhaps they are not as sensitive to these associations. But come on, it's 2019 and we have the internet. We are a global society, and they are global companies -- they should know better. Period.

I’m with the vote with your wallet crowd on this one. A noose trivialized for “fashion”; what is that about?

Seriously. SERIOUSLY WTF.

I think Sisi has the right of it, that it's a publicity stunt. I can't believe everybody at Burberry looked at this before it even got out the door, and said "Nope, looks like a maritime boat rope to me".

I agree that it's in poor taste for US culture. But I also think that sometimes designers get into a mental direction (in this case, a nautical theme which is so common for spring) & don't think of the ways that this design could be taken out of "their" context & put into someone else's. And I also think that other cultures don't have the same instances of lynching that the US has had, and they don't reflexively run their artistic designs through the cultural lens of the US - if they are Italian, Thai, British, German, Chinese, Arab, whatever. Those people have their own cultural lenses & don't necessarily think about how many other lenses exist.

Artists are not historians or even cultural experts. I'm willing to say they are ignorant of the many meanings of a thing. But I'm not willing to attribute maliciousness to them. And I have a hard time expecting that they will cater to MY culture above all others.

Kirstjen, I don't think malice is the issue here, but ignorance is. I don't expect brands to cater to "MY" culture or anyone else's culture. But let's be honest here. These brands sell a lot in the US. The history of racial trouble and slavery is far from an obscure point of fact, here or in Europe. If this is ignorance, it is willful ignorance.

And since when is a noose "nautical"?

Sorry if I'm getting rather heated about this, but I've really had it with designers and brands putting things like this out there, getting publicity, and then saying, "oops, sorry." It's disingenuous.

look at how much furor this has generated. no publicity is bad publicity.

apropos, someone in alabama would like to bring back the klan.

I do think some publicity is bad publicity - Ivanka Trump shut down her fashion line after publicity/falling sales, and in NZ Cadbury has lost lots of market share after bad publicity over several matters ( closing down favourite production lines, changing iconic products, use of palm oil, size reduction).

I don't buy European or American designers mostly because they are too expensive here. I don't actually even consider it. So they won't notice my loss of business.

If you are wanting to sell to an international market then there are processes you should go through. We are lucky on the forum to have people from different cultures and nations so we can consider what is acceptable in one place is a faux pas elsewhere.

Maybe the designers should be using us as an international focus group to tell them the potential offence that their designs are causing?

Janet, I agree with you (and Sisi) ... I'm starting to feel there's something very disingenuous afoot with these incidents.

Like Janet said WTF???!!!! I wish I could post the "vomit" emji. The lack of awareness, ignorance, racism, sexism, or any sensitivity is really getting to me. It brings out a visceral reaction and I want to SLAP the heck out of these companies and the people who are involved with this GARBAGE. My other frustration is when people and or companies behave badly it seems to me there are NO CONSEQUENCES for the bad behavior or actions. Ugh.......I need a time out and deep breathing.....

I do find it interesting how many people questioned whether or not to continue wearing D&G and Prada and even Gucci. But NO ONE will give up their Burberry. Listen, I get it. If McQueen (my favourite designer) did something equally idiotic (well, the brand, given that Lee is no longer with us), I wouldn't give up my Alexander McQueen items, either. But the point is that it is easy to claim people should stop wearing or stop buying some designer when it wouldn't be a sacrifice to you to do so, and it's much harder to claim the same when you're invested in the brand - either emotionally or monetarily.

And there's the rub. These designers know they can get away with virtually ANYTHING. The people who buy their brands won't stop, and when the outrage blows over, everyone will be asking which new Burberry trench they should buy. People certainly won't throw away the designer items they already have. Realistically, if we eliminated all the designers who were insensitive or even blatantly racist/misogynistic/offensive, there would be nothing left, and the discount brands wouldn't be far behind.

So, really, where's the incentive for them to stop?

I hear you Echo!
I don’t own any D&G , Prada (well, sunnies) or Gucci, but I am heavily invested in Burberry ...I have also been offered a job there multipl times. I have a huge fondness for the brand and it’s quality . I know many people who work for Burberry up and down the chain.
I can tell you they are wonderful, thoughtful , diverse and beautiful people. That is the reason I won’t boycott..it hurts the many wonderful people who are just working and trying to make a living at the store /retail level.

There is a fine line between art and fashion, some would argue fashion is art. Perhaps designers look at things differently than those who wear their “art” .
I am in no way defending the -suicide- or -lynching- images this article of clothing brings up. In fact it’s shocking, I also believe 100 % that the vast majority of people also find it shocking and unacceptable .

Yikes!

I think 100% target knew they were doing something “ naughty” in a very bad way though of course with some people there is enough cultural and time/place/ age “ distance” that there is not as much resonance to feel all the nuances of what they’ve done. I say that because the imagery goes way beyond the American experience that’s being discussed most here— it’s a violent image that has featured in horrific acts of oppression and “control” in many countries and cultures across centuries. And note that the mental health community was upset, as there’s that very personally tragic aspect for some observers also.

I do worry like Sisi that there a payoff in some % of their target market.

Thanks Janet for clarifying that. I didn't know much about (or that it is still so lively present) that particular shameful connotation with a specific race -just the one could generally apply to all humans (still so painful and deeply disturbing)....my apologises.

Worst Black History Month ever? I don't believe for a second this was innocent.

Oh that’s horrifying! I’m thankful for the model but it is terrible that her concerns were not listened to.

I just read yesterday about the Gucci turtleneck debacle. Honestly I would love to be surprised by this indecency but given that I live in the US at this particular time, blatant racism and insensitivity feels more like the rule of law. I can’t think about it too much or I’d never leave the house. Just do what I can to try to influence my little world positively.

I'm just shocked anyone needs an explanation for why this is a horrifying image. Even here on the forum. Sorry for being blunt, but racism, hanging , the image of the noose , suicide, and slavery are and were world issues, not solely European or American . Anyways, this is a major misstep - and I'm kind of glad I no longer own any Burberry. I'd be embarrassed to wear even a bag right now.

Viva, blatant racism pretty much HAS been the law here in the US from the beginning. The fourteen episodes of Seeing White (http://www.sceneonradio.org/seeing-white/) are an excellent exploration of just how this country came to be built on systematic racism. Horrifying but also quite eye-opening.

PS: it’s a podcast series but each episode has a transcript if you prefer reading over listening.