Tory Burch Among Those to Be Honored at Parsons Annual Benefit
● This year’s honorees are being recognized for their contributions to design, retail and more.
The New School is gearing up for its
73rd annual Parsons Benefit on May 23 at The Glasshouse in New York City.
This year’s event will salute Tory Burch, Moda Operandi’s Lauren Santo Domingo, the Ford Foundation’s president Darren Walker and visual artist Kehinde Wiley. As chairman and chief creative officer of Tory Burch LLC, Burch has built a global brand that is also rooted in giving back. She and her fellow honorees are being celebrated for their contributions to design, retail, entrepreneurship, the arts, philanthropy, social justice and inclusivity. They are also being recognized for longstanding commitments to helping create opportunities for future generations of artists, designers and creatives.
Parsons’ executive dean Rachel Schreiber noted in a statement how “Parsons was founded upon the idea that design, art and business can change the world,” adding that the honorees are “reimagining the creative and commercial landscape.”
Last fall, Tory Burch and Parsons’ School of Fashion formed a five-year partnership. That included the creation of the Tory
Burch Empowering Future Fashion Leaders Endowed Scholarship Fund at Parsons with a gift that will be matched to set up a $1 million fund to offer ongoing financial aid to students annually. Separately, the Tory Burch Foundation will host its third Embrace Ambition Summit, called “Confronting Stereotypes and Creating New Norms,” at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall on June 14.
In a statement, Burch said “the school is synonymous with New York fashion and its students are our industry’s future,” and praised “its incredible faculty led by Rachel Schreiber and Ben Barry.”
Wiley, who is widely known for his official portrait of former President Barack Obama, also has a busy calendar with his work on view in multiple locations around the globe. His “An Archaeology of Silence” is a solo show now on at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice through July 24. “Slay: Artemisia Gentileschi & Kehinde Wiley” is up at The Frick Art Museum in Pittsburgh until July 10. A solo exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston showcases his Obama portrait and his work can be found in “Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear” at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London until Nov. 6. In New York, Wiley’s work is part of “Fictions of Emancipation: Carpeaux Recast” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through March 5.
Parsons has lined up Steve Madden Group president Liz Rodbell and LVMH Inc.’s chief human resources officer Gena Smith as this year’s co-chairs for the benefit. Attendees will also catch a presentation of students’ work from programs throughout Parsons.