party lines

Reed Krakoff, Donna Karan, Narciso Rodriguez, and More at the Parsons 2012 Fashion Benefit

Photo: Patrick McMullan

“I failed draping,” confessed Donna Karan, an honoree at last night’s Parsons 2012 Fashion Benefit gala, when asked about her student days. Luckily, she can laugh about it now. “It was such a shock. I had to go to summer school, and I was told that I would never be a designer and that this field just wasn’t for me.” We all know about her happy ending — she eventually got her graduate diploma — but it was quite a stressful time, apparently. “I didn’t party even a little bit. All I did was work, work, work!” she said. Other attendees had more relaxed educational experiences: “I was a pothead,” explained the CFDA’s Steven Kolb.

Reed Krakoff, Donna Karan at the Parsons Benefit