As fellow alumni of The New School & Parsons, news like this is constantly breaking for me as a fashion writer. Parsons will honour Naomi Campbell, Olivier Rousteing and Geoffroy van Raemdonck; at their annual event, The New School’s 74th annual Parsons Benefit Honors.
A WINNING TRIFECTA
In honour of The New School’s 74th annual Parsons Benefit, the university will salute some top-shelf talent — supermodel Naomi Campbell, Balmain’s creative director Olivier Rousteing and Neiman Marcus’ Geoffroy van Raemdonck. This year’s event will be held May 24 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. As in years past, the gathering will celebrate the honorees’ contributions to design, retail, fashion, philanthropy and social justice.
The three honorees have also been singled out as visionary figures in their respective industries. Another draw was their commitment to the transformative power of design, which aligns with The New School’s and Parsons’ mission, vision and curriculum.
Campbell, Fashion4Relief founder, for example, on Friday thanked Dr Makaziwe Mandela, The African Gate and the European Parliament in Rome for honouring her. Campbell vowed to “always fight for human rights and continuously support campaigns against racism in fashion and beyond” in an Instagram post to her 14 million followers.
Rousteing also attracts extensive media coverage. For example, he just teamed with Beyoncé to codesign a collection titled “Renaissance,” named after the megastar’s album and tour.
As the chief executive officer of Neiman Marcus Group, Raemdonck regularly teams with designer brands and earlier this year, she directed the relaunch of the Neiman Marcus Awards, which honoured Brunello Cucinelli, Jonathan Anderson of JW Anderson and Loewe and Amina Muaddi.
The New School’s benefit will also raise scholarship funds to help students explore art, design, liberal arts, music, technology and social innovation. Proud to say I was one of the students who benefited from scholarships like these to subsidize my education at my alma mater.
In a statement, Yvonne Watson, interim executive dean of The New School’s Parsons School of Design, described the honorees as “industry leaders who have profoundly inspired our students.” Watson also “praised their longstanding commitment to the values that guide Parsons in everything we do.” — ROSEMARY FEITELBERG
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