Steven Kolb, CEO and President of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, resigned Friday after twenty years leading the organization, just days after video surfaced of him physically restraining PETA protesters at a COS Spring 2027 runway show during New York Fashion Week.
The footage shows Kolb snatching protest signs, covering demonstrators’mouths, and pinning a woman to the ground. PETA campaigner Mason Melito says that protester was treated at urgent care, and the group intends to file charges. Kolb had announced a voluntary leave of absence on Monday and apologized, calling his actions completely out of character, while H&M, COS’s parent company, confirmed it was investigating the incident.
The CFDA board accepted Kolb’s resignation and praised him as a dedicated leader. Actress Michelle Williams was reportedly in attendance when the chaos unfolded. The story has sparked a bigger conversation about where protest crosses the line, and where a leader’s reaction crosses it even further. What do you think, should Kolb have stepped down, or was the resignation an overcorrection?
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Local Lawton
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