Overview
- A small group of PETA activists entered the COS Fall 2026 show and marched the runway with signs protesting wool, and security removed them while the show continued.
- Video circulated widely showing CFDA CEO Steven Kolb grabbing two protesters, covering their mouths and restraining one on the floor, actions he later called “inappropriate.”
- PETA said it will file a police report and is planning to pursue criminal charges against Kolb, and the group reported that one campaigner sought urgent care after feeling suffocated.
- The CFDA echoed Kolb’s apology publicly, and social media criticism of his intervention has raised immediate reputational pressure on Kolb and the organization.
- The protest ties to a recent PETA Asia investigation alleging abuse at a South African wool farm and adds to ongoing industry scrutiny of animal-welfare practices in fashion supply chains.