Olivier Rousteing Gives Sincere Message To Graduates At The 74th Annual Parsons Benefit

The New School Parsons Benefit honoring prominent figures in fashion, business, design, and philanthropy hosted its 74th annual event. The benefit was held on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, with the Parsons BFA graduates showcasing their garment designs, and a special guest performance by Busta Rhymes.

The honorees for this year included Geoffroy Von Raemdonck, CEO of Neiman Marcus Group; Naomi Campbell, supermodel, and cultural innovator; and Olivier Rousteing, Creative Director of Balmain. Each honoree, recognized for their significant contributions to design, retail, fashion, philanthropy, and social justice, exemplify the values of Parsons in creativity, innovation, sustainability, and inclusivity.

Parsons BFA graduates sent their looks down the runway that night as guests looked on from their dinner tables. With 200 students creating one look each for the BFA program, a runway show was held on the Saturday before the benefit to showcase the designs in motion. A venue in the West Village filled with an audience who witnessed a cohesively put-together 200-look show in curated groupings that implied entire collections made by a handful of designers.

The runway show illustrated the next generation of fashion designers and innovators who can become like Marc Jacobs, who graduated from Parsons. Jacobs presented and accepted the honor for Naomi Campbell that Wednesday evening of the benefit. Students who attended had opportunities to speak with guests like Anna Wintour, Carolina Herrera, founder of Carolina Herrera, and Wes Gordon, creative director of Carolina Herrera and benefit co-chair.

The guest list for the night also included model Cara Delevingne, actress Jodie Turner-Smith, Kim Kardashian, designers Dapper Dan, Diane Von Furstenberg, Tory Burch, April Walker, and the Parsons Dean of Fashion Ben Barry.

Students with garment designs on display included Shirley Tang, Marcelle Barbosa, Steve Coté, Helen Sotropa, and Bradford Billingsley, who had featured garments at the benefit dinner.

Each honoree acts as a mentor to the graduates, aligning with the Parsons mission, vision, and curriculum. No one spoke to that more than the illustrious Olivier Rousteing. Rousteing captivated the audience and students with an impromptu speech, detouring from his planned speech, which he wrote four prior to the benefit. His spontaneous yet casual ad-lib demonstrated his passion for the trajectory of each student.

Embracing the audience with words he echoed earlier in a private conversation, Rousteing says, “I think tonight we are not celebrating only ‘Olivier’ as the creative director, we are celebrating a new world. I started twelve years ago in France. I was the only black designer at the helm of a French luxury house. What happened is that I had to fight for so many years.”

Rousteing expressed further his sentiment for the Parsons graduates as an advocate for an equally equitable industry, “Those three words – inclusivity, diversity, democratizing fashion – this is what happening tonight. Celebration of not only myself [and others] but the next ‘world.’”

“The new world – [is] a better world. So this award is not for me, but it’s all for the next generation. Fighting for who they want to be, and having no limits on their dream because of their background, their color, or anything that would not define what they want. They will be the ‘tomorrow.’ I have met incredible students. Tonight, this is what I want to explain to them. Keep hope, keep your strength, keep working hard, and don’t let anybody put you down,”

The benefit raised over $1.7 million in funds for The New School Parsons. Honoring the three innovators and industry leaders, Campbell, Von Raemdonck, and Rousteing, uphold the values of the over 100-year-old academic and sartorial institution.

They join a prestigious list of past Parsons Benefit honorees that includes Donna Karan, Jason Wu, Vera Wang, Kehinde Wiley, Pharrell Williams, Rihanna, Sarah Jessica Parker, Tory Burch, and Marco Bizzarri of Gucci, celebrating the creativity and vision of past, present, and future leaders.