PETA Activists to Pursue Criminal Charges Against CFDA’s CEO Steven Kolb


People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals activists said Sunday they are filing a police report and planning to pursue criminal charges against Steven Kolb, president and chief executive officer of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, who was seen restraining the activists at a Cos fashion show Sunday afternoon.

During the show, during which the PETA protesters stormed the runway, Kolb tried to restrain one of them, held her to the floor, and covered her mouth and nose with his hands as she shouted, “Sheep bloodied and beaten for wool,” according to PETA. Kolb was also seen shoving and grabbing a second PETA member who was filming the catwalk takeover and covered the protester’s face with his hand. They were joined by a third member protesting Cos’ implication in a recent PETA Asia investigation, said PETA.

Videos of the incidents spread widely on social media on Sunday, with numerous commenters criticizing Kolb’s actions.

Reached for comment after the show, Kolb said in a statement, “I reacted inappropriately to an incident at a show earlier today. It wasn’t my place to do so. I should have let the security team handle the situation.”

He was not seen at any shows later in the day.

PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk said, “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.”

Steven Kolb at the Cos show shown restraining a protester.

Steven Kolb restraining a protester at the Cos show.

Courtesy of PETA

The Cos show was held at WSA at 175 Water Street in New York.

Despite the protesters, the Cos show continued as the handful of activists walked down the runway intermittently among the models, shouting about not killing sheep. Several of the activists looked out of place, but one protester was dressed in a suit and looked like a model before he started shouting about sheep. Security swiftly escorted each protester from the venue. As soon as the finale was over, celebrities were quickly escorted out of the venue. One showgoer commented, “Who’s paying attention to the clothes?”

The show was attended by such celebrities as Sharon Stone, Michelle Williams, Lupita Nyong’o, Diego Calva, Dominic Sessa and John Boyega. During the show, Williams was seen holding her hands up to her chest.

Spokespeople for Cos didn’t return a request for comment Sunday.

Last month, PETA called on H&M Group, parent company of Cos, to ban wool after a PETA Asia investigation allegedly showed workers kicking, beating and dragging terrified sheep and leaving them bleeding at a South African wool farm. PETA said the farm sells wool through the same certified South African wool pipeline that supplies H&M Group.

PETA has a long history of disrupting fashion shows, initially over designers’ use of fur and more recently over the use of leather, shearling, wool and related fibers. PETA protesters have in the past thrown paint on women who wore fur and in one incident threw a tofu pie in the face of Anna Wintour over Vogue’s then pro-fur stance. The organization also has repeatedly targeted Coach during New York Fashion Week with high-profile protests demanding the brand stop using animal leather.



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