Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took to the podium at the National Arts Club Thursday night to honor Donna Karan, who was being awarded the Medal of Honor in Fashion.
“I want to thank everyone associated with the National Arts Club, and being here in this kind of Gilded Age surrounding is such a great piece of New York history. The person we honor tonight is also part of New York history and American history, and I would even argue world history,” said Clinton, addressing the crowd of 150 people, including Christy Turlington, Edward Burns, Rebecca Moses, Kenneth Cole, Joel Powers, Kay Unger, Narciso Rodriguez, Valerie Steele, Patti Cohen, Ken Downing, and Gabby Karan de Felice.
“Donna is one of a kind. Many of you know her and I’m not surprised this event sold out so quickly. She’s fearless, she’s original, she’s always ahead of her time,” said Clinton, who was introduced by David Zyla, co-chair of NAC’s fashion committee.
Clinton recalled that she met Karan back in the early 1990s, when her husband Bill was elected president, “and I also remember her ad campaign from 1992, ‘in women we trust,’ imaging a woman president,” which got a round of applause. “She was ahead of her time, and still ahead of her time when it came to that,” said Clinton.
She told the story of how Karan has been with her for some of the really big moments in her life, having met Donna along with her great friend, Barbra Streisand, around Bill’s inauguration. “She [Karan] said, ‘I’ve got some things I want you to try.’ And she was generous and so kind to send me. And I loved, loved, loved the cold-shoulder dress. So it was a state dinner, and I thought I’m going to wear Donna Karan‘s cold-shoulder dress. As you know, it just shows your shoulder. Who could complain about that? I mean, you would have thought we had declared war.”
“It was a front-page story [in the New York Times], and I thought a pretty good picture, for as you know, that’s all that matters,” said Clinton. “From then on, Karan has been not only a friend, but someone who is really inspirational, because we both came of age at a time when there were a lot of questions about women’s roles and could women be both mothers… Gabby is here as living example that Donna certainly excelled in that arena. Could we have it all?”
Donna Karan and her daughter, Gabby Karan de Felice.
Lexie Moreland/WWD
“Donna Karan not only lived the answer but her clothes helped to guide a lot of us to our own personal answers,” said Clinton. “I see a lot of shoulders in this room.”
Clinton said that Karan “celebrates both femininity and power, which I always thought went hand-in-hand. And she demonstrated time and time again that she’s passionate, she cares about people, and I saw that firsthand with her amazing work in Haiti,” said Clinton.
Clinton recalled that after the earthquake hit Haiti some 16 years ago when she was secretary of state, it was beyond devastation. “There was so much work to be done to try to help the Haitian people and to try to provide the health care that was needed, to try to begin to deal with the loss of housing and employment, and Donna came to Haiti and she saw the extraordinary intelligence of the Haitian people. She saw the artistry. She saw the creativity and the innovation, and so while the rest of us were mired in trying to figure out how we were going to take care of all the patients and the overloaded hospitals and how to get children back to school, she came with a spark of creativity and energy that put smiles back on the faces of the people that she met and worked with. She began working with the artisans, convincing them that they could once again make art and that she would help them find markets for that art, and the creativity that coursed through her heart and soul manifested itself in people beginning once again to believe that they had a future as well,” said Clinton.
Clinton wrapped up her remarks saying she was grateful for the example Karan set. “I’m grateful for your extraordinary creativity and energy. I’m grateful for your humanitarian work and your friendship. And you so deserve this medal of honor in fashion, but you also deserve a medal of honor in life,” said Clinton.
Afterwards, there were speeches from Moses, who in her life never thought she’d have to follow Hillary, Turlington, Karan de Felice, a video message from Streisand, and then Cole, who said he never thought he’d have to follow Barbra.
Earlier at the cocktail party, which was sponsored by G-III, cameramen swarmed the room, including those shooting a documentary that is being filmed about Karan’s life and work. A portrait of Karan took center stage in the room, which was done by portrait artist Michael Shane Neal, and will be hung in the National Arts Club with other portraits, such as those of Anna Sui, Judith Jamison, Naeem Khan, Joseph Abboud, Ruben Toledo, and Valerie Steele.
Karan, who was hobbling on a crutch following a fall in Palm Beach earlier this winter, said about the portrait, “I don’t look like that, maybe many years ago.” Asked how she was feeling about this honor, Karan replied, “It’s incredible. It’s a little bit more than I ever expected. I never expected anything like this.”
Maria Cuomo Cole and Kenneth Cole
Lexie Moreland/WWD
Kenneth Cole said he and Karan worked in Haiti together. “I had the privilege of working closely with Donna, and we did a little collaboration a year after the earthquake in 2011.” Karan also sits on Cole’s Mental Health Coalition board. “She is relentless, and she is always wanting to distinguish herself and make an impact. And she’s perpetually frustrated and anxious about the state of the world and how to make things better. So I check that box for her — the ‘make the world better’ box.”
Narciso Rodriguez, who worked for Donna Karan when she was at Anne Klein, said she was his fashion “critic” when he was a student at Parsons School of Design, and later made an outfit for her daughter, Gabby.
“When I was a teenager, she was my hero. And the only thing I wanted in life as a teenager was to go to Parsons and to work with Donna Karan. So I enrolled at Parsons on Saturdays in high school, and both of those dreams came true. She continues to wow everybody in one way or another,” said Rodriguez.
On another note, despite his close friendship with Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, Rodriguez said he’s not watching “Love Story,” about her and John F. Kennedy Jr. “It’s a little strange” he said. But what about all the interest in her and her clothing? “I think it’s amazing. She was a style icon when she was here, and so many years later, people are still looking at how she dressed.” How does he feel about making her wedding dress? “She was my best friend. It was a labor of love.”
Karan, who helped establish the graduate program at Parsons School of Design and is very involved with the school, had good representation at the event. Kay Unger, chair emerita of Parsons School of Design, and Joel Powers, president of The New School, broke news about big changes that are coming to Parsons School of Design. Powers said that in July, Parsons School of Design and The College of Performing Arts, which consists of Mannes School of Music, School of Jazz and Contemporary Music and School of Drama, will operate as a single college. The Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts and The New School for Social Research will also be merged into a single college. This rapid restructuring is aimed at resolving the deficit within the next two years. He said the annual Parsons’ Fashion Benefit, which is usually held in the spring, will be held in September around New York Fashion Week.
When asked about Karan’s legacy, Rebecca Moses said, “She changed fashion. She’s one of the great contributors of true fashion. I would say it’s her compassion that truly separates her. She’s quite unique. Some people may know it, but some people may not know how deep it goes.”
