W
hen the subject is personal style, judging a book
by its cover can be as misleading as it is with
literature. John Demsey is a prime example. A
strong, silent type given to dark suits and perfectly
dimpled ties, the group president of the Estee
Lauder Companies is perhaps best known for making the cult brand
M-A-C cosmetics a household name by enlisting over-the-top divas for
its ads, among them drag queen RuPaul, ecdysiast extraordinaire, Dita
Von Teese, and music stars, Mary J. Blige and Lil’ Kim. The Viva Glam
campaign, not coincidentally, also raised more than $145 million for the
M-A-C AIDS Fund. Demsey thereby memorably established the brand
as both insouciantly fun and socially aware.
Similarly eye-opening is his Manhattan residence. Guests arriving at
the front door of the unassuming 1840 townhouse are invariably taken
aback when they step into the emerald-green entrance hall, where the
staircase treads are cloaked in zebra-stripe carpet and the walls are hung
with neon-bright paintings depicting flamboyant hydrangeas, roses, irises,
and tulips. These are the work of his mother, Renee Demsey, a glamorous
socialite and free spirit who was an illustrator for Bergdorf Goodman in
the 1950s and has had a major impact on her son’s aesthetic.
‘John’s style is anything but traditional,’ says Bibi Monnahan, his
decorator and long-time friend. ‘He’s sophisticated, urban, and a little
quirky.’ Demsey’s home, after all, is probably the only place you’ll find a
vintage Willy Rizzo dining table standing near a bronze bust of a
LEFT: The stunning custom-made fireplace and overmantel create an elegant focal point
in the living room and are flanked with a pair of matching white bookcases
TOP: Portrait of John Demsey standing amongst his large collection of framed
photographs in a corner of the large living room of his Manhattan town house
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