Givenchy blasted for ’noose necklace’ at Paris Fashion Week
Trigger warning: suicide
French luxury fashion house Givenchy is under fire after featuring a noose-style necklace at its Spring/Summer 2022 at Paris Fashion Week recently.
Givenchy and creative director Matthew M. Williams, who joined the fashion house at the start of the pandemic, were called out for sending out the “blatantly offensive” necklace down the runway in a show that was considered as one of the biggest headliners for the year for the brand.
Among those who called out the brand was fashion industry watchdog Diet Prada, who pointed out its similarities between the Burberry snafu at the 2019 London Fashion Week where it sent out a model wearing a hoodie with a noose around her neck.
The British luxury brand eventually apologized saying it was “deeply sorry for the distress.”
In an Instagram post, Diet Prada said: “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.”
It continued, “This @givenchyofficial necklace that just came down the runway steers dangerously close to that same territory. Really makes you wonder how no one noticed, but alas… history repeats itself.”
A representative from Diet Prada expounded on the its post with the Insider. “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.”
“There’s no mistaking the Givenchy necklace for a noose… seeing it immediately gave us flashbacks to that Burberry incident,” the rep added.
Meanwhile, speaking with The Guardian, Goldsmiths, University of London professor Angela McRobbie expressed her frustration with the presentation of the image.
“I’m not sure what to say here, given the tired and weary ‘desire to shock’ or the absolute thoughtlessness. For me, the questions that relevant but never get answered are: who are the decision makers behind the scenes? Who signs off blatantly offensive items like this? When there is a reaction, do they get fired? Is there a cynical agenda to shock and then rapidly withdraw the offending piece for the media attention it accrues?” McRobbie said.
As of this writing, Givenchy is yet to provide a statement regarding the issue.
In 2019, model Liz Kennedy, who was part of the Burberry lineup at the London Fashion Week 2019 but did not wear the hoodie, posted on Instagram a photo of the hoodie with a lengthy message directed towards Burberry and its creative director Riccardo Tisci.
“Suicide is not fashion,” she wrote. “It is not glamorous or 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.”
She added, “Let’s not forget about they horrifying history of lynching either.”
If you think you, your friend, or your family member is considering self-harm or suicide, you may call the National Mental Health Crisis Hotline at 1553 (Luzon-wide, landline toll-free), 0966-351-4518 or 0917-899-USAP (8727) for Globe/TM users, or 0908-639-2672 for Smart users.
