In New York City’s Mandarin Oriental ballroom, Donald Robertson, the animated cosmetics executive turned painter with a whopping 200,000 Instagram followers was painting portraits at the annual Fool’s Fete benefitting New Yorkers for Children. For $1,000, guests could be rendered in Robertson’s signature vibrant, abstract style. “It’s kind of a suck-up portrait,” he later quipped. “You will never look taller or thinner. Plus, it’s for the kids.” Demand was so high that he stopped for only a brief moment, paint still flecked on his hands, to eat dinner and plot new collaborations with his tablemates including Brett Heyman and John Demsey. Then, it was straight back to the brushes.
The evening, during which guests were surrounded by towering bursts of cherry blossoms selected by David Stark, always brings out a particularly well-heeled crowd thanks to the event’s lead supporters. They include brands like 3.1 Phillip Lim, Calvin Klein, and Salvatore Ferragamo, as well as arbiters of style like Vanessa von Bismarck, Alina Cho, and Selita Ebanks, who herself has participated in the organization’s programs that offer financial assistance and school materials to foster children in New York. “I’ve been supporting New Yorkers for Children for over eight years,” Ebanks told Vogue, fresh off a flight from Los Angeles and wowing the room in a floral beaded Ronald van der Kemp gown that fell perfectly in line with the evening’s Enchanted Garden theme. “As a foster kid myself, I admire the work that they do, and it’s humbling to see how many lives they’ve impacted. Wherever I am in the world, I like to make sure I’ll be at the Fool’s Fete.”
The crowd included first-timers too, like model Kate Bock and crooner Maxwell. “These children look up to so many of these models and designers, and now they can see that there’s a bridge between them and that world that seems so untouchable,” he mused as the dance floor filled. Moments before, guests were treated to a rousing poetry reading by New Yorkers for Children beneficiary Kaira Baitz and a live auction held by Christie’s Lydia Fenet, but now it was time to cut a rug. Soon enough, floral gowns in every imaginable hue twirled and shimmied to the classics until the lights were turned on. Robertson, still stationed in the lobby, continued to paint as a long line of partygoers excitedly waited for their turn to donate and be drawn.