The 76th Annual Parsons Benefit Celebrates Innovative Leadership, Transformative Design, and Bold Student Work
This year’s Parsons Benefit recognized an esteemed cohort of leaders in New York City’s fashion, business, design, and philanthropy circles, who helped the top-ranked art and design school raise $1.2 million to support scholarships for students from across The New School.
The Parsons Table Award was presented to Artemis Patrick, chief executive of Sephora North America; Madelyn Wils, CEO of the Fifth Avenue Association and former president of the Hudson River Park Trust; and Willy Chavarria, the acclaimed and fast-rising fashion designer whose Mexican-American identity deeply informs his eponymous label’s work and storytelling. The prestigious honor recognizes luminaries who have made a noteworthy impact within the design industry and celebrates their influence across fashion, beauty, retail, and more by championing social innovation and creativity.
To that end, each honoree accepted their award and gave empowering speeches. “The number-one thing is to have a love for yourself and a self-confidence that allows you to believe in what you’re doing, so that you’re not mimicking other people,” Chavarria said as he accepted his award from AJ Hikes, executive deputy director of the ACLU. “That comes with a lot of work and a lot of practice to be able to fight your inner saboteur and have faith in yourself.”
Every year, the Parsons Benefit includes an exciting fashion show featuring work created by Parsons Fashion Design students. This year’s event also highlighted performances from students at the College of Performing Arts, as well as an exhibition from the MFA Textiles program and cork pieces from a partnership between the School of Constructed Environments and the Rockwell Group.
The evening attracted high-profile attendees from fashion and design, including Calvin Klein, Elena Velez, Mara Hoffman, Taofeek Abijako, Jonathan Chen, Beckett Fogg, Mark Levine, Jacques Agbobly, and Kay Unger, who rung in her 80th birthday at the end of the evening with a giant cake. Gena Smith, the chief human resources officer of LVMH, and Mazdack Rossi, co-founder of Milk, served as the benefit’s co-chairs, while the evening was hosted by journalist Zanna Roberts Rassi.
