Steven Kolb resigned as CEO and president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America after video showed him physically restraining two People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals protesters at a COS show during New York fashion week. Kolb had been placed on leave on Tuesday pending a review of the incident; he said in a statement that after 20 years at the CFDA he had made the difficult decision to step down and that this was the right moment for him and the organisation to begin a new chapter. In the footage Kolb pushed protester Mason Melito and covered his mouth, and wrestled a second protester to the ground, using his arms and a leg to restrain her and placing his hand over her mouth; Melito called Kolb’s behaviour “completely uncalled for” and described the situation as scary. The protesters were demonstrating against the use of wool by the H&M group, which owns COS. The CFDA board, which includes designers such as Ralph Lauren, Thom Browne, Tory Burch and Michael Kors, thanked Kolb for more than two decades of leadership and said he leaves the organisation well positioned. A Peta USA spokesperson said the incident would not have occurred if Daniel Ervér, CEO of H&M, had acted on PETA’s requests and said PETA will still meet with Kolb and others to press for changes. PETA also staged a separate protest at London fashion week this week, when three protesters disrupted an H&M show and were escorted out by security.
