By Danielle Kaye
NEW YORK, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The head of the Council of Fashion Designers of America has taken leave from his role after physically restraining animal rights activists at a New York Fashion Week runway show on Sunday, an incident that reverberated online and throughout the city's fashion sector.
Steven Kolb, CEO of the leading U.S. fashion industry trade group, grabbed at least two activists at H&M-owned COS' runway show while they were protesting the brand's use of sheep's wool.
He restrained one activist on the ground and covered her mouth with his hand, according to videos viewed by Reuters that circulated widely online.
Kolb apologized for the incident in a statement on Monday. He said he was taking a voluntary leave from work and that he plans to meet with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, the group behind the protest.
"There is no justification for physically restraining another person. Security should have handled the situation, and I should have stepped back," Kolb said in a statement on his Instagram account.
CFDA, the official organizer of New York Fashion Week, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident and on Kolb's position at the trade group.
PETA is urging H&M and COS to ban wool from their collections, adding in a statement on Sunday that Kolb's actions "show how top people in fashion use violence to silence people" advocating for animal rights.
In a statement, H&M said it only sources animal-derived fibers from certified farms and, where possible, from recycled sources.
"We are deeply sorry about the incident that occurred in connection with our AW26 show on 13 September," a spokesperson for H&M said in a statement. "We respect everyone’s right to express their views, and we believe everyone should be treated with care and respect."
(Reporting by Danielle Kaye in New York, Additional reporting by Helen Reid in London; Editing by Andrea Ricci )
