CFDA chief Steven Kolb resigns after runway protest confrontation

Steven Kolb stepped down as head of the Council of Fashion Designers of America on Friday, several days after facing criticism for physically restraining animal rights activists at a New York Fashion Week runway show.

Kolb wrote on Substack: “After twenty years leading the CFDA, I have made the difficult decision to step down as CEO and President.”

The CFDA, the top US fashion-industry trade group and organizer of New York Fashion Week, said Tuesday that Kolb had been placed on leave pending a full board review, after he said he was taking voluntary leave.

According to videos viewed by Reuters that spread widely online, Kolb grabbed at least two activists on Sunday during a runway show protesting H&M-owned COS’s use of wool. He pinned one demonstrator to the ground and covered her mouth with his hand.

Kolb apologized Monday, saying he planned to meet People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which organized the protest.

“There is no justification for physically restraining another person,” he said at the time. “Security should have handled the situation, and I should have stepped back.”

The confrontation prompted broad backlash, with PETA saying Sunday that his conduct “show how top people in fashion use violence to silence people” advocating for animal rights.

The CFDA board, chaired by Thom Browne and including designers such as Vera Wang, Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors, said in an Instagram post that it respected Kolb’s decision to resign and thanked him for his service.

The CFDA did not identify a successor.