Chez John Demsey, Brandon Maxwell, and Karlie Kloss Hosted a Cocktail Party to Benefit the Fashion Scholarship Fund

John Demsey’s townhouse, tucked mid-street in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, is a hallowed locale. Thanks to its ornate decor and endless collection of art and artifacts, it’s a venue that easily plays host to a rollicking MAC Halloween bash, or, like last night, an intimate celebration of the Fashion Scholarship Fund, which has provided grants and guidance for fashion students since 1937. In either case, Demsey is ever the consummate host.

With the Chris Norton Band strumming away in the home’s solarium and hors d’oeuvres by Cornelia Guest making the rounds, a gang of New York designers, including Derek Lam, Naeem Khan, and Bibhu Mohapatra, came out in support of Brandon Maxwell, whose work with the Fashion Scholarship Fund began at the debut of his Spring/Summer 2019 collection.

“I worked with a few corporate partners, and through my partnership with Kia, I was able to rebuild a school in Marfa where I designed the collection,” Maxwell explained. “It really was so life-changing to see that what we do, which seems very surface level, can have great impact. So, it’s been important to me going forward that when we work with a corporate sponsor on a fashion show, that we partner with people who really care about helping people like myself. I might be 35 now, but I was that kid who just wanted that opportunity, and didn’t have any access to it.”

Maxwell was joined by the fund’s executive director Peter Arnold and Karlie Kloss, who sported a yellow sheath dress from Maxwell’s Spring 2020 collection. “I’m obsessed with this art,” Kloss told us, marveling at the surrounding walls, covered from floor to ceiling with rare photographs and paintings.

Once everyone had a cocktail in hand, the crew carried on to the home’s second-floor living room, where the three hosts—Kloss, Maxwell, and Arnold—perched atop a set of mid-century chairs for a conversation on raising further awareness of the fund. “When I heard about this event, I knew I wanted to be involved. Not only because I love our industry—I love fashion and I am really passionate about supporting the next generation of designers—but I am also really passionate about education,” Kloss said. “Also, I wanted to hang out with you guys!”