Burberry has come under fire for a design many have called racist and insensitive. During its recent show on London Fashion Week, the popular brand Burberry showcased a hoodie that featured a noose around the neck. The retailer was quick to apologize for their mistake and has removed the item from the collection, after criticism from one of its own models which led to the online 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’s chief executive officer, said in a statement provided to CNN. “Though the design was inspired by the marine theme that ran throughout the collection, it was insensitive and we made a mistake.”

Liz Kennedy, a model who featured in the show, was the first to criticize the hoodie. She claimed that she tried to talk to the designers about the use of a noose, but here concerns were dismissed.

“Suicide is not fashion,” Kennedy wrote on Instagram. “It is beyond me how you could let a look resembling a noose hanging from a neck out on the runway.”

Kennedy then directly spoke to the Chief Officer of Burberry, Riccardo Tisci.

“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. How could anyone overlook this and think it would be okay to do this especially in a line dedicated to young girls and youth. The impressionable youth. Not to mention the rising suicide rates worldwide.”

Kennedy also included  the “horrifying history of lynching” that the noose shape evoked. This connection was eventually picked up Twitter and called the whole situation “insensitive and ignorant.”