New York Fashion Week came for clothes and somehow left with beef, protesters and the CEO of the CFDA apologising for physically intervening at a fashion show.
So… normal fashion week behaviour.
The drama happened during COS’s NYFW show, when PETA protesters disrupted the event to protest the brand’s use of wool.
Videos from the show captured Steven Kolb, CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), physically restraining two protesters.
And once those clips reached the internet, the conversation quickly stopped being about clothes.
Kolb later acknowledged that his reaction was inappropriate, saying that incidents like this should be handled by security rather than by him. The CFDA made a similar statement.
PETA, meanwhile, defended the protest and said it was targeting the wool industry over animal-welfare concerns. COS said the safety of attendees remained its priority.
The incident quickly divided people within fashion: some criticised the protesters’ methods, while others argued that Kolb’s response crossed a line.
And somehow, this wasn’t even the entire Fashion Week.
The Spring/Summer 2027 season eventually closed with Thom Browne at The Shed, after a week that included major designers, new names, parties, AI experiments and enough fashion discourse to keep everyone’s group chats employed.
NYFW gave us clothes.
The internet chose chaos.
As usual.
