Less than a week after a physical altercation with animal rights activists in the middle of a runway show, Steven Kolb, the chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the fashion industry’s leading trade organization, has resigned.
“After 20 years leading the C.F.D.A., I have made the difficult decision to step down,” Kolb said in a statement on Friday evening. Kolb had been placed on leave on Monday by the organization, pending a full review into his actions.
The organization did not name an immediate successor. A statement attributed to the C.F.D.A.’s board, which includes leading American designers such as Tory Burch, Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors, said: “We respect Steven’s decision to step down and are grateful for his many years of leadership and service to the C.F.D.A. and our industry.”
The incident, which took place on Sunday at the runway show for Cos, a contemporary fashion brand owned by H&M, shocked many in the fashion world and was viewed far and wide in a video posted to Instagram by the news site Fashionista. Kolb, 64, is shown shoving and placing his hand over the mouth of a young male protester, later identified as Mason Melito, who described himself as a senior campaigner with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA.
The video then shows Kolb pulling a female protester to the ground, using one leg to restrain her as he covers her mouth.
The video has now been viewed more than 500,000 times on Instagram, and a majority of the top comments criticized Kolb’s behavior and called for action to be taken against him. The broader sentiment in the fashion community was that Kolb’s actions had gone too far. On Monday, Diane von Furstenberg, the C.F.D.A.’s former chairwoman, spoke highly of Kolb, calling him the “sweetest person in the world, vegetarian and anti-fur,” but added that “of course, he was wrong.”
The altercation, which occurred just past the midpoint of New York Fashion Week, swiftly became the talk of the front rows at subsequent runway shows. On Monday, he issued a statement of apology through his own Instagram Stories.
“What happened was completely out of character for me, both personally and as a leader,” Kolb wrote. “Frankly, I don’t recognize that person.” He said he was “meeting with a professional” to ensure it would not happen again.
In the remaining days of fashion week, Kolb, who is a reliable presence at nearly any fashion event in New York City, was conspicuously absent from the shows.
Vanessa Friedman and Jacob Bernstein contributed reporting.
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