Steven Kolb resigns as CFDA chief executive after PETA altercation

Steven Kolb has resigned as president and chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, four days after the trade body placed him on leave over a physical altercation with PETA protesters at New York Fashion Week.

Kolb announced the decision in a statement posted to his Substack, Steven Says. "After twenty years leading the CFDA, I have made the difficult decision to step down as CEO and President. I am enormously proud of what we have built together and believe this is the right moment for both me and the organization to begin a new chapter," he wrote. He listed strengthening the organisation financially, expanding programmes and partnerships, scholarship and philanthropic work, sustainability and circularity initiatives, support for emerging and underrepresented designers, and the growth of New York Fashion Week among the achievements of his tenure. He did not refer to the altercation in the statement.

The CFDA board of directors issued its own statement, describing Kolb as a dedicated leader and tireless champion of American fashion across more than two decades at the organisation, including fifteen years as chief executive. "We respect Steven's decision to step down and are grateful for his many years of leadership and service to the CFDA and our industry. He leaves the organization well positioned, with a clear mission and dedicated team, to carry out the important work ahead as we look to the future of American fashion," the board's statement says.

The resignation follows the Cos show on September 13 at WSA at 175 Water Street, where activists from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals walked onto the runway carrying placards over the use of sheep's wool by the H&M Group-owned brand. Footage circulated widely online shows Kolb wrestling one protester to the floor and pushing another against a window, covering their mouths in both cases. Kolb said on Instagram that he had "reacted inappropriately" and should have left the situation to the security team, later posting a fuller apology in which he said he was taking voluntary leave and had accepted an invitation from PETA to discuss its concerns. Both activists said they were filing a police report and intended to pursue criminal charges.

PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement on the day of the protest: "Today's actions show how top people in fashion use violence to silence people who expose how sheep are beaten, bloodied, and violently killed for scarves and sweaters. PETA is calling on H&M and COS to ban wool from its collections and is urging everyone to shop elsewhere until they do." Responding to the resignation, PETA said the incident that cost Kolb his job would not have taken place had H&M acted on its earlier requests.

Kolb joined the CFDA as executive director in 2006, initially working alongside then-president Diane von Furstenberg, and became chief executive in 2011. The organisation represents more than 300 American designers and runs the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and the annual CFDA Awards. The season in which he departed was the first at New York Fashion Week under the CFDA's ban on animal fur in collections.