The Parsons Benefit, an annual event that celebrates the work of Parsons School of Design students and raises money for university-wide student scholarships, has been postponed to the fall, according to an email sent on March 4 from Executive Dean of Parsons Anne Gaines and Executive Dean of the College of Performing Arts Stephen Brown-Fried. 

The decision was made to allow the fundraiser to include CoPA, the email said. CoPA is joining with Parsons next semester as a part of the university’s restructuring, a controversial cost-saving plan meant to stabilize the university’s years-long operating deficit. 

The benefit brings in between one and two million dollars in student scholarships each year through donations from community members such as alumni, parents, friends, and corporate sponsors, according to a written statement from Gaines and Brown-Fried, sent to the New School Free Press by Will Wilbur, the university’s director of communications. 

The New School Free Press asked Wilbur if the postponement had anything to do with financial concerns. Wilbur referred back to Brown-Fried and Gaines’ statement about waiting to include CoPA.

Every year, the event hosts high-profile attendees and showcases creative work from  the Parsons community. 

According to the email that announced the postponement, while students from CoPA have performed at the benefit before, this year’s event will merge both colleges at the benefit for the first time under the new restructuring. 

“This kick off for our new college will begin our next chapter as we celebrate our unique positions in our fields, and continue to build the future of design and the performing arts,” Brown-Fried and Gaines said in the email.

The benefit in the fall will “celebrate the extraordinary creative potential generated by our communities and practices coming together,” wrote the executive deans in the statement sent to the Free Press by Wilbur. 

The event, historically held in the spring, typically has a high turnout and features presentations, performances, and runway displays of fashion students’ work. The event also honors three notable figures in fashion, business, design, and philanthropy each year.

In past years, the benefit has honored the likes of Rihanna, Artemis Patrick, the president and CEO of Sephora North America, Libby Wadle, the CEO of J.Crew Group, and Marco Bizzarri, the president and CEO of Gucci at the time of the nomination.

Many celebrities and noteworthy figures attend and participate in the benefit each year. In 2015 and 2023, Anna Wintour presented the honoree award to Marc Jacobs and introduced Balmain creative director Oliver Rousteing, respectively. Kim Kardashian, Cynthia Erivo, Pharell Williams, Dapper Dan, and Sarah Jessica Parker have all also attended past Parsons benefits.