“Behind the Blue Door,” a lavishly photographed book detailing the more-is-more maximalism of John Demsey’s New York City townhouse, officially goes on sale next Tuesday, and to celebrate, he’s throwing open the aforementioned doors for a cocktail party Wednesday night.
Demsey, a former executive with the Estée Lauder Cos. who helped make MAC and Tom Ford global powerhouses, is known for his vast collections — of photography, clothing, knick-knacks, art, watches, accessories, even animals. (He shares the house with eight dogs and two cats, as well as his teenage daughter.)
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The book, written by Demsey’s close friend Alina Cho and photographed by Douglas Friedman, takes an in-depth look at all five floors, chapter by chapter — from the kitchen, where every inch is covered with Fornasetti plates — to the third floor closets where Demsey’s hundreds of shirts are housed, arrayed by color and stripe pattern, to the fifth floor’s homage to Andy Warhol’s Factory.
Expected to attend Wednesday night’s event: artist Ruan Hoffmann (Demsey exhibits scores of his plates across myriad floors), Moda Operandi’s Lauren Santo Domingo, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, and designers including June Ambrose, Francisco Costa and Dennis Basso.
For Demsey, who was forced to retire from Lauder in 2022 after a controversial Instagram post, the book marks the opening of another new door, too. Earlier this year, he joined L Catterton as a senior adviser.
“Recently I have learned that doors sometimes close, but there is always another that opens,” he writes in the foreword of “Behind the Blue Door.” “Behind every door, every room, every object, there is another story, another world to be discovered.”
“Behind the Blue Door,” $65, Vendome Press.