You probably would expect to see a lot of weird and wild fashions at New York Fashion Week.
But I think it's safe to say what happened on Sunday at one of their events was more than a bit unusual. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) showed up to protest.
At least two PETA demonstrators stormed the runway at the COS Spring 2027 Fashion Week event, waving signs and chanting about banning wool from the industry as an audience including actress Michelle Williams looked on.
But the reaction of Steven Kolb — the CEO of the event organizer, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)— took the incident to another level and drew attention beyond the usual fashionistas.
Oigan, esto es un escándalo Steven Kolb, CEO del Consejo de Diseñadores de Moda Americanos (CFDA), usó fuerza física para silenciar e inmovilizar a activistas de PETA que protestaban en el desfile de COS durante #nyfw pic.twitter.com/Yyz0n3ffRq
— Rebeca Maccise (@rebecamaccise) September 13, 2026
Kolb snatched the sign from one of the protesters, Mason Melito, and then tried to cover his mouth to stop him from chanting. That protester was then removed by the regular security.
The CEO also ripped the sign out of the hands of another protester, as she continued to yell about sheep. Then he grabbed her, pulled her to the ground, and then wrapped a leg around her to help restrain her. He also tried to cover her mouth to stop her from yelling.
He eventually let her up after words from the man sitting next to him, and she went off, continuing to yell about sheep.
But that wasn't all.
But the PETA protestors went straight to a local police precinct to report the incidents and told The Post they were considering trying to file charges against the CFDA.
“She felt like she was being suffocated,” Melito said of his colleague. “She’s using her body to speak up for the sheep that have no say whatsoever. She is now at urgent care."
“We’re trying to tell people that there’s no need to wear animals or anything that comes from animals nowadays. Animal skin is something that just belongs to the animal,” he said.
“The violence that was shown to PETA supporters is honestly nothing compared to what these sheep go through.”
Kolb, who has led the CFDA for 15 years, subsequently issued a statement.
He addressed the incident in a statement on his personal Instagram account, writing, “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.”
Apparently, he's decided he's not going to join the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment).
CFDA also commented.
A representative for the CFDA, which is chaired by Thom Browne, said in a statement sent to The Cut that the organization “agrees that these disruptions should be handled by the security professionals in place.”
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