Liv Tyler, Olivia Wilde, Michael Stipe, and More at The Lunchbox Fund's Fall Benefit
Vogue
Kristin Tice Studeman"I remember the first time Topaz ever asked, our little crew—me, Helena [Christensen],Michael Stipe, and a few other people—if we would decorate lunchboxes. She literally sent a lunchbox with a bunch of art supplies inside and we decorated them and they were auctioned off," Liv Tyler said last night of her friend Topaz Page-Green, founder of The Lunchbox Fund, at the charitable organization's 10th anniversary benefit dinner hosted by Prada.
Years later, that same "little crew" of dedicated friends still turns out every year to support Page-Green and her mission to end childhood hunger in South Africa. Last night's crowd at Gabriel Kreuther's eponymous new Midtown restaurant included Stipe, Spike Jonze, Olivia Wilde, and Chuck Close. Tyler, who was about to start filming a movie Tuesday morning with Trudie Styler (Styler's husband, Sting, and daughter, Mickey Sumner, were both on hand for the event), said, "It's kind of crazy to be this dressed up tonight [in Valentino] and then be playing a cop in the morning—I have been walking around the house with my gun belt on."
Page-Green, in Prada, was grateful for her pals' endless support. "They are such a fabulous group of friends, and we couldn't be doing it without them," she said, noting that The Lunchbox Fund will be reaching 15,000 kids per day by the end of this year. "But I always want to be further, so wherever I am is never enough." Her goal for 2017? To reach 50,000 kids per day by the end of that year. To help her reach those goals, she enlisted top artists like Dustin Yellin, Tara Donovan, and Bob Gruen to donate pieces for this year's silent auction via Paddle8 (ending November 9). "The Jonas Wood and Bob Gruen pieces sold before they even went to market!" said Page-Green.
After placing their bids with the iPads on hand and sipping on blood-orange cosmopolitan cocktails, the crowd rendezvoused at the tables for the four-course meal by Kreuther. Think Long Island duck, artichoke soup, baked dorade royale, and apricot pistachio petit beurre to close out the meal. "We opened about four months ago, and we are very pleased with how things are going," said Kreuther, who already earned a Michelin star for the restaurant in September. "When I heard about tonight's cause and did a little digging, I definitely wanted to be involved. It's nice when people want to change things for the better."