FILE PHOTO: CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America Steven Kolb attends the 2025 CFDA Fashion Awards in New York City, U.S., November 3, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
Kolb announced his resignation on September 18, following the September 13 incident at the COS runway show in New York. On September 18, he announced that he was leaving the organisation after around two decades at the CFDA. Just days later, PETA protesters disrupted H&M’s London Fashion Week show on September 17.
The organisation has not yet announced a successor.
He said there was “no justification” for physically restraining another person and admitted that security should have handled the protesters instead. Kolb also said he would take voluntary leave and seek professional guidance. “After twenty years leading the CFDA, I have made the difficult decision to step down as CEO and President,” Kolb wrote in a post on Substack. The CFDA said it respected his decision and thanked him for his years of leadership. H&M has said it is committed to animal welfare standards and responsible sourcing.
Steven Kolb has stepped down as president and CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), days after a confrontation with PETA protesters at New York Fashion Week went viral. The protesters had disrupted the show to object to the use of wool. Videos from the event showed Kolb physically intervening with two protesters. In one clip, he was seen wrestling one activist to the ground, covering her mouth and restraining her. Another video showed him taking a poster from a protester. The footage quickly spread online, putting the longtime fashion executive under intense scrutiny. A day after the confrontation, Kolb apologised and acknowledged that his response had been inappropriate. The CFDA later placed him on leave while it carried out an internal review. He thanked the organisation’s members, designers, staff, board members and partners, as well as the four CFDA chairs he worked with during his tenure: Stan Herman, Diane von Furstenberg, Tom Ford and Thom Browne. The confrontation happened during a COS show, with activists protesting the brand’s use of wool. COS is owned by H&M Group, and PETA has been campaigning against the company’s use of wool following allegations about animal treatment in parts of the wool supply chain. The NYFW incident wasn’t the end of the protests. Three activists walked onto the runway at Kensington Olympia carrying signs calling on H&M to drop wool. Unlike the New York incident, security escorted the protesters away without the kind of physical confrontation seen at the COS show. The London protest was part of the same wider campaign against wool.
PETA says an investigation linked to H&M’s supply chain documented alleged mistreatment of sheep. The organisation is calling on H&M to stop using wool altogether. The back-to-back incidents have put an unusual spotlight on fashion week. What began as protests over wool has now also become a wider conversation about how runway disruptions are handled, where animal-derived materials come from and how fashion brands respond when activists take their message directly to the catwalk. Looking for trusted parenting advice? Follow TOI Parenting Circle on Instagram for expert guidance, relatable stories, and practical tips delivered every day. Get the latest Lifestyle News and more. Download the TOI app.