Fashion Exec Says Sorry After Shocking Runway Rumble Goes Viral

Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images A top fashion executive is apologizing after videos of his reaction to protestors at a fashion show on Sunday went viral.

During the COS presentation in the WSA building on Day 4 of New York Fashion Week, a group of activists from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) interrupted the show, crashing the runway as they held signs and chanted slogans such as “get wool off the runway now.” In a video posted by Fashionista and credited to its beauty and style director Steph Saltzman , Steven Kolb, CEO and president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, confronts the PETA demonstrators.

The widely shared video shows Kolb placing his hand over the faces and mouths of two protesters.

At one point, he physically restrains an activist by wrapping his leg around her, pinning the woman while models continue walking the runway of the Swedish fashion brand’s show.

The CFDA, a not-for-profit trade association for fashion designers, did not immediately respond to The Looker’s request for comment.

However, in a statement shared by People , the CFDA said, “Mr.

Kolb acknowledged fully that he responded inappropriately in the moment and that the matter should have been handled by security.” It added that the “CFDA agrees that these disruptions should be handled by the security professionals in place.” Several A-listers were present at the Sept.

13 show, including Sharon Stone, Michelle Williams, and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o.

Following the altercation, Kolb reportedly acknowledged the incident on his Instagram story.

According to the screenshot shared by Diet Prada , Kolb wrote, “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 has since made his Instagram private, and his profile indicates that he has deleted all of his posts.

In a statement shared with the Daily Beast, PETA wrote: “CFDA boss Kolb reacted aggressively to peaceful protesters, thereby endorsing PETA’s complaint that the fashion industry is unthinkingly violent.

Perhaps due to internal criticism, he has apologized for his behavior and now PETA will explore a meeting with him and ask him to watch footage from our 17 exposés of the wool industry showing sheep being punched, kicked, and cut to ribbons for wool in the hope that he’ll realize something must be done.” Mason Melito, the male PETA protester shown in the video, told InStyle, “Anything that could have resulted from this show is nothing compared to what the sheep go through in the wool industry.