The Parsons Benefit Raises $1.2 Million and Honors Fashion Luminaries  

On Tuesday, May 20, an esteemed cohort of leaders in New York City’s fashion, business, design, and philanthropy circles came together to celebrate the 76th annual Parsons Benefit at Halo in the Financial District. The star-studded event raised $1.2 million to support scholarships for students at the leading institution who are pursuing degrees in art, design, liberal arts, music, technology, and social innovation.  

The evening presented The Parsons Table Award 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’ve 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.” 

This year’s benefit included a live fashion show featuring work created by Parsons Fashion Design students. The school is renowned for producing some of today’s most illustrious fashion designers, including Marc Jacobs, Prabal Gurung, Tom Ford, Anna Sui, Donna Karan, and Carly Cushnie. Guests also enjoyed live performances by students of the College of Performing Arts and an exhibition from the Textiles, Fine Arts, and Constructed Environments programs. 

The glamorous evening attracted high-profile attendees across each of those realms, 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; the evening was hosted by journalist Zanna Roberts Rassi

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