(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The top executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America has been placed on leave after he was seen on video in a physical altercation with a PETA protester at a fashion show on Sunday.
Steven Kolb, the CFDA’s president and CEO, was a guest at an H&M-led show for Fashion Week when PETA protesters disrupted the event to protest H&M’s apparent use of sheep’s wool.
One female protester approached the runway near Kolb while holding a sign. Kolb, seemingly upset at the protester, snatched the sign from her and grabbed her by the arm as she attempted to get it back.
“Get sheep off the runway!” the unidentified woman yelled.
As Kolb sat down, he continued to restrain the woman by placing his arms around her and causing her to fall to the ground between his legs.
As seen in a viral video shared online, Kolb then placed his hand over the woman’s mouth as she attempted to shout and get away. Another portion of the video showed Kolb placing both hands over the woman’s mouth while continuing to restrain her.
Onlookers appeared distraught, with one attendee sitting two seats away from Kolb seemingly directing him to let the woman go. Instead, Kolb placed his leg between the woman and himself, making it more difficult for her to get away.
It took another guest to intervene and tell Kolb to release the woman before he let her go. The woman, now standing up, attempted to retrieve her sign, but Kolb continued to hold on to it.
“Please get sheep off the runway,” the woman said as she walked away.
🚨 THIS JUST HAPPENED AT NYFW!
A woman who crashed the NYFW COS runway, part of @HM group, to expose the suffering of sheep used for wool was grabbed and restrained, with her mouth covered, by Steven Kolb, @CFDA CEO and President. pic.twitter.com/Gga9VWWmSz
— PETA (@peta) September 13, 2026
PETA subsequently shared clips of the altercation on X and compared Kolb’s treatment of the protesters with the treatment of sheep in the wool industry.
“This abusive treatment is reminiscent of what happens to sheep in the wool industry, when they’re restrained, beaten, and roughly shorn,” PETA wrote on Sunday afternoon. “This animal advocate got to go home, but sheep used for wool end up at the slaughterhouse.”
In response to the backlash over Kolb’s actions, the CFDA announced in an Instagram post that it would place him on leave pending a “full review.”
In a statement, the organization claimed it was “committed to working with dissenting voices to find commonality and is engaged in efforts to move the American fashion industry forward while upholding the values of our membership, including respectful engagement with different viewpoints.”
The CFDA is a highly influential nonprofit trade organization that represents American fashion designers. It also organizes the New York Fashion Week schedule and presents the annual CFDA Fashion Awards.
Despite its nonprofit status, CFDA has long been associated with opposition to Trump, including hosting pro-abortion events during his first administration that opposed his pro-life policies.
The CFDA and 90 retail industry trade groups sent a letter to President Trump calling for economic stabilization efforts amidst the coronavirus pandemic. https://t.co/PlaCBPKZJ5
— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) March 22, 2020
Several designers and clothing brands represented by CFDA, including LRS and Public School, have also created designs attacking Trump, including underwear reading “Fuck Your Wall” or “No Ban No Wall” and hats saying “Make America New York.”
CFDA also came under fire from its own members after board member Kara Ross and her husband, billionaire Stephen Ross, hosted a private fundraiser for Trump in 2019, according to WWD. The event was not hosted by CFDA.
Most recently, the CFDA allowed fashion designers to promote the “ICE OUT” campaign during New York Fashion Week in February. At the fashion shows, several designers and attendees wore “ICE OUT” or “BE GOOD” pins in opposition to the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
