066 Steven Kolb: The CFDA's Pragmatic Visionary CEO

Fashion Your Seatbelt

Steven Kolb and I have traveled in the same circles for years. But until this podcast, we never really had the chance to have a deep dive discussion about life in general and more specifically, life in fashion. As the CEO of the CFDA, Steven is basically the ringmaster of New York Fashion Week, so it is a bit difficult to pin him down. But what I have always appreciated about him is how level headed he is. Even in the eye of the fashion tornado, you can count on Steven to be matter-of-fact with his insights, feedback, and suggestions. Over the years, he has been a driving force behind some of the CFDA’s more important projects, from the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and the CFDA Fashion Incubator program to the CFDA Fashion Awards. Not to mention the many initiatives he, and by extension, the CFDA, have supported over the years that shine a light on issues such as better representation, equity, and inclusivity within the fashion industry. Just this year Steven launched RUNWAY360 in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic to create a digital platform for New York fashion designers to show content-rich online presentations of their collections when social distancing made in-person fashion weeks a non-starter. And at the same time, he flipped the script on this year’s CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund turning it into a fundraiser called A Common Thread to aid those fashion businesses that have been most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this podcast, Steven and I talk about where he sees fashion weeks headed in the future, how his outsider’s perspective has helped him be even more effective as the CEO of the CFDA, and what his favorite part of his job is. Also do listen all the way to the end of this podcast because Steven’s answers to my 5 generic fashion questions are just fantastic.