The discourse around Steven Kolb’s behavior at the H&M-owned Cos show Sunday night has completely spiraled.

Offline at a show Monday, I heard some, who seemed unsure of how to react, laughing at the sheer absurdity of it. Online, as has become routine when things go this viral, people are using it as an example of a symptom of the larger problem, the larger problem being the fashion industry’s physical mistreatment of people at fashion shows. (Toxic behavior is still rife in the business, as Back Row’s recent interviews with fashion assistants showed.)

But the incident seems indicative of another pervasive issue that the Industry Proper doesn’t like to talk about, which is generally at odds with the glamorous images of influencers and models at the shows: fashion’s supply chain. What if the industry regularly mustered this much concern for the people actually making our clothes, who, Italian authorities routinely remind us, often labor in sweatshop-like conditions?

The fashion industry’s totally broken supply chain — in which suppliers hire sub-contractors and third-party auditors that brands wash their hands of — is just what the PETA protesters demonstrating at the Cos show sought to remind us of.

The group had published a video investigation (be warned: that link contains upsetting content) of a wool supplier that it alleged was abusing sheep. H&M told NBC that it only sources animal fibers from "certified farms," and after looking into PETA’s allegations, licenses for one wool farm and one mohair farm were suspended. Certifications exist that ought to prevent companies like H&M from being made an example of in investigations like PETA’s, which H&M said it welcomes.

However, PETA does not feel like the work is done. A spokesperson sent me the following statement in an email:

I don’t always agree with PETA’s tactics, but they’re not wrong — brands as big and powerful as H&M should find a way to audit their complete supply chains! Even though H&M is hardly alone in not staying on top of every step of it.

Watching Kolb physically restrain protesters in his capacity as president and CEO of the CFDA — the Council of Fashion Designers of America, a non-profit trade association for American fashion designers — felt dystopian. Kolb essentially serves as the American fashion industry’s chief diplomat. This wasn’t the even-keeled, media-trained person (who’s worked at the CFDA for 20 years!) whom the industry is used to seeing.

In stunning footage posted to Fashionista and PETA’s Instagram feeds, Kolb could be seen physically restraining the two people protesting the treatment of sheep. In the footage, Kolb, crumpled sign in hand, appears to push one protester off the runway before pressing his hand forcefully over the man’s mouth and face (two security guards then dragged him out). The videos also show Kolb putting his arms around another protester to remove her from the runway and then sitting her on the ground in front of a front-row seat, where he restrained her with his leg and held his hand over her mouth. On Monday, the CFDA announced Kolb would be placed on leave, pending review.

Days earlier, Kolb was posing cheerily with Anna Wintour and Meryl Streep at a charity event that involved auctioning off The Devil Wears Prada 2 clothes. And just before that, he was featured in announcements about this being the first official fur-free New York Fashion Week, which ought to have been a big win for the week itself.

Kolb’s behavior also marked something of a reversal for the industry, which has long had an adversarial relationship with animal-rights activists that it generally dealt with by ignoring them. When one threw a dead raccoon on Anna Wintour’s plate during her Christmas lunch with Vogue staff at the Four Seasons, she simply had it removed like it was no big deal and went on with the meal.

If you look at the videos closely, Kolb looks like he just snapped, which prompts the question: Why? Because of the stress of his job, which must feel thankless much of the time, during the most high-pressure week of the year? To save… Cos? A brand known for sub-$200 office dresses staging a runway show not for orders or survival, necessarily, but for the sake of “brand storytelling”? Here’s Cos managing director Daniel Herrmann talking to The Business of Fashion in January:

Allegations that the company is abusing sheep for wool do not help tell the story of “craftsmanship and innovation.” Maybe Kolb felt this in the moment, and, desperate to protect a Swedish retailer with a market cap of about $28 billion spending some money on the fashion week he oversees, lashed out at the protesters.

Kolb called his behavior "completely out of character for me" and said in a statement, "As I review the videos, I understand the reaction they have generated. Frankly, I don’t recognize that person. As a result, I am taking a voluntary leave from work and meeting with a professional to ensure it never happens again.” 

Maybe the bigger story here isn’t necessarily one executive’s career imploding, or physical mistreatment of people who get invited to fashion week, but the industry’s desperate attempt to tell a story of craftsmanship to consumers who have never been hipper to the reality of how their clothes are made. And the industry’s visceral fear of our education on that matter.

Could Kolb Face Legal Action?

Commenters have been calling out media outlets that haven’t termed Kolb’s actions “assault.” I asked Susan Scafidi, director of Fordham’s Fashion Law Institute, whether Kolb’s actions could meet that legal definition. “In New York State, a charge of assault requires physical harm. Unless the protesters are alleging that they were hurt, this would at most be a matter of disorderly conduct — one of the same charges, along with trespass, that might be brought against the protesters for disrupting the event,” she wrote in an email. One protester, Mason Melito, told the New York Times he was “not physically harmed.” The PETA rep told me the other, Andrija Barak, “went to urgent care and was quite shaken and scared, but the incident reinforced her resolve to keep advocating for sheep who are terrified, stomped on, and killed for wool.”

Scafidi added that disorderly conduct is not a crime, but a “violation” that doesn’t impact one’s criminal record, but could result in a penalty of up to 15 days in jail or a fine.

The fashion show also took place in a private space, not a public one where protesters have the right to demonstrate. “If they pose a threat to people or property, security guards or anyone else can respond with proportionate but not excessive force,” Scafidi added. Security guards may legally use “reasonable but not excessive force” to remove trespassers.

“At the end of the day, the best advice for a brand is to monitor the guest list carefully, have trained security guards present, and be prepared to dial 9-1-1 if necessary,” she wrote. “Or just go vegan and hope that nobody shows up to protest anything else.”

Khaite Polarizes Once More

Khaite has gotten its fair share of crap over the years. I’ve previously written about why that is and why designer Catherine Holstein has actually been well-positioned for the success she's now enjoying. Her brand seems poised to become the rare American luxury success story.

While I’ve heard from some who think this collection was her best yet and she’s bound for Paris soon, others (“Khaiters”) strongly disagree. I liked it. I hear from my retail sources that it sells. She has a point of view and tries to offer design instead of just stuff. You should watch the video to see the details, but it opened with Kaia Gerber in a white bra top and leather pencil skirt with a great little asymmetrical flap detail in the back, as though she'd just wrapped it around her body like a towel. In the past, Holstein has weighed clothes down with heavier fabrics that could get into unappealing lump territory, but this collection, refreshingly, featured lighter sheer fabrics.

Perhaps most significantly, she showed how minimalist brands can evolve past the stealth-wealth trend and meet this triumph of tacky we’re all enduring.

Five More Things I’m Noticing at NYFW

Overheard at New York Fashion Week

“Do you need a croissant to go? I think you do!”

“Our clients already have the bags that scream at you.”

“But I mean, Paris is PARIS.”

“That’s what’s great about working for yourself. You don’t have to go to Tory Burch.”

“That show could have been an email.”

“They’ve gotten me a TON of brand partnerships.”

“This walking and drinking” — points to green juice — “also vulgar.”

Partnership inquiries: [email protected]

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