Givenchy sparks backlash for sending models down the runway in a noose-shaped necklace
Givenchy debuted a noose-shaped necklace at Paris Fashion Week for its spring 2022 collection.
The design was called out by fashion watchdog account Diet Prada on Instagram for insensitivity.
In 2019, Burberry issued an apology after using a similar design for a hoodie.
Givenchy debuted its Spring 2022 collection at Paris Fashion Week on Sunday, which included a noose-shaped necklace.
The collection was Matthew M. Williams' first haute couture collection as creative director of the brand, according to Vogue. In the magazine's slideshow compilation of the show, the necklace appeared in looks 13, 16, and 32.
The French fashion house was called out for insensitivity over the accessory, which is reminiscent of rope tied into the shape of a noose, by the Instagram page Diet Prada, which seeks to expose wrongdoings in the fashion world. Givenchy did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
In a post shared on Sunday that has over 75,000 likes at the time of writing, Diet Prada wrote: "You'd think the industry would've learned not to put things that resemble nooses around a model's neck after the whole @Burberry noose hoodie debacle in 2019."
"This @givenchyofficial necklace that just came down the runway steers dangerously close to that same territory," the caption continued. "Really makes you wonder how no one noticed, but alas… history repeats itself."
Speaking to Insider, a representative for Diet Prada elaborated on its caption.
"There's a lot of ways you can interpret nautical or rope motifs in fashion and accessories, but putting rope around a neck, let alone an actual noose tie, is too uncanny," the representative said. "There's no mistaking the Givenchy necklace for a noose… seeing it immediately gave us flashbacks to that Burberry incident."
Back in 2019, Burberry debuted a controversial sweatshirt at London Fashion Week with hoodie drawstrings that ended in a noose knot hanging around the model's neck. It received immediate backlash. Insider previously reported that Riccardo Tisci, Burberry's chief creative officer, issued an apology for the sweatshirt, saying, "while the design was inspired by a nautical theme, I realize that it was insensitive."
At the time, model Liz Kennedy also called out Tisci and the wider Burberry team in a post on Instagram. "Suicide is not fashion," she wrote, adding, "Let's not forget about the horrifying history of lynching either."
"I left my fitting extremely triggered after seeing this look (even though I did not wear it myself)," the model continued in her caption. "Feeling as though I was right back where I was when I was going through an experience with suicide in my family."
Givenchy has not yet addressed the criticism of the necklace.
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