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On Sunday afternoon, Mason Melito took a front row seat at the Cos show at New York fashion week. A campaigner at Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), Melito wasn’t on the guest list – instead, he and four other activists had planned to briefly disrupt the catwalk show with the aim of drawing attention to the use of wool by the Swedish brand.
Protests on the catwalk have a long, rich history. Since the 90s, Peta have regularly stormed shows in an attempt to draw attention to the industry’s use of fur and leather. It’s a typically peaceful practice that happens regularly – during some shows, the catwalk is so long and security so swift that show-goers don’t even notice. (Sometimes, Peta take a different approach: in 1996, during a lunch, a protester famously dropped a dead raccoon on to Anna Wintour’s plate.)
However, rather than causing a temporary interruption during the Cos show, Melito and a fellow protester found themselves being physically restrained by Steven Kolb, the chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). A video of the incident went viral, and has since led to the Cos show unexpectedly becoming one of the most talked about events at fashion week.
Melito, speaking to the Guardian by phone from New York City, described his shock at how the incident unfolded.
As the show started and the models emerged, one of the activists on the other side of the room took to the catwalk holding a poster and shouting their concerns about the wool trade. They were quickly escorted away by security.
Shortly afterwards, Melito signalled to Andrija Barak, a fellow disruptor who was sitting close to Kolb, that it was their time to take to the catwalk. “As soon as she got up, Kolb assaulted her,” Melito claims.
In a video captured by the news site Fashionista, Kolb can be seen seemingly wrestling Barak to the ground. He snatches a poster out of her hands and then covers her mouth with his hand while restraining her using his arms and a leg.
After Barak freed herself, Melito stood up. “I attempted to follow her to console her and make sure that she was OK,” he says. Instead, he too found himself being restrained by Kolb in another incident that was also captured on camera.
On Monday, Kolb issued a statement on Instagram saying he had “inappropriately restrained” two activists, and that “there is no justification” for his actions. “As I review the videos, I understand the reaction they have generated,” he added. “Frankly, I don’t recognise that person. As a result, I am taking a voluntary leave from work and meeting with a professional to ensure it never happens again.”
On Tuesday, Kolb was placed on leave by the CFDA, pending a full review. In a statement, the organisation said it is “committed to working with dissenting voices to find commonality and is engaged in efforts to move the American fashion industry forward while upholding the values of our membership, including respectful engagement with differing viewpoints”. A spokesperson for the H&M Group, which owns Cos, added that the company was “deeply sorry” about the confrontation.
Melito describes the situation as “a scary one”. Asked if he felt unsafe, he said: “Absolutely – Kolb just went completely rogue and decided to take matters into his own hands.”
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The confrontation has opened a can of worms. But, most of all, the incident must be a reminder of the issues fashion has with some of its supply chains. From the illusion of Made In Italy to waste and alleged “wage theft”, whether it’s a giant global corporation that sells pieces for less than £30 or a luxury house that sells items for four figures, when it comes to failures to protect people and animals, the industry is quick to pass the buck. For many, what will have been most alarming about the incident isn’t the pinning of protesters to the floor, but the fact that its consumers will now be questioning just exactly how their clothes are made.
Melito, for what it’s worth, considers this a victory for sheep, who he describes as the “real victims”. “Wool belongs to sheep and it should stay on sheep.”
The incident hasn’t dissuaded PETA from storming the catwalk. On Thursday night at a H&M show at London fashion week, the show was interrupted three separate times by protesters who were met with boos by several audience members. Each one held a sign stating “H&M: Wool is bloody cruel. Drop it.” After walking up and down the catwalk twice they left voluntarily and were escorted out of the venue by security.
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