An ensemble of do-gooding stars decked out in Michael Kors gathered at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Monday evening for the 20th annual God’s Love We Deliver Golden Heart Awards.
Kors has been a longtime supporter of the nonprofit, initially as a volunteer during the ’80s and now serving as co-chair. He believes that, like a good outfit, a good meal can nourish your soul and make you feel transformed.
“Ultimately, at the end of the day what I love about fashion is that it changes people’s spirit. You put the right thing on, you feel different about yourself. You kind of go into the world feeling differently,” Kors said during cocktail hour on Monday. “When you find an organization that does that for people’s lives, you really see the difference. You see the joy when you walk into someone’s home with food that’s been tailored to their needs — it’s amazing. After all these years, delivering the food and being in the kitchen with the volunteers and preparing the food is a magical experience. I’m a lousy cook, but I’m good chopping.”
Nicky Hilton was also on the red carpet, sporting a backless Michael Kors suit.
“I’ve been on the board of God’s Love for many years now. As a lifelong New Yorker, God’s Love has always been an institution,” she said. “The work they do is so meaningful, impactful, incredible, and they take care of sick New Yorkers. I love this city and this is my way of giving back.”
Honorees this year included Misty Copeland, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Andrew Scott.
Currently making her Broadway debut in “Other Desert Cities,” Louis-Dreyfus was on a rare night off from the production.
“It was really exciting! It was last night and it went really well,” she shared of the opening night. “We were all pumped and it seems to have been well received, and the audience seemed to really enjoy it and we certainly loved doing it. I grew up doing theater and I went to Northwestern and doing theater in Chicago — quite a lot of it. And so it’s sort of a return to roots in that sense.”
When asked about her pre-show rituals, the newly minted Broadway star said, “I have a lot of different things that I do with my cast mates… but I can’t talk about it.”
“We went last night — opening night. It was remarkable,” Kors said of the show. “I said to her my first reaction was, ‘What took you so long to get on this stage?’ She was just astounding and an incredible cast. She was meant to be on the stage. It’s genius.”
Also honored during the evening was former principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland.
“I especially feel connected [to God’s Love We Deliver] with the way I grew up and not having access to food and not really always like I was a part of a community and supported, being houseless for a lot of my upbringing,” Copeland said. “It simply should be our duty as human beings to think about the communities we are in and give back.”
Now on her 11th book, the ballerina and devoted philanthropist has most recently ventured into middle grade fiction with her new fantasy novel “Starfire Academy” about a magical performing arts academy.
“It’s such a great space and age to write for. I feel like there’s so much that hasn’t been done in that space, so it’s exciting to tap into it,” Copeland said. “It feels so connected to dancing. It’s also storytelling and that to me is what I’m meant to be doing.”
Other guests included Olivia Munn, Judith Light, Martha Stewart, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, Lea Michele, Huma Abedin and Annabelle Wallis.
As guests were seated for the first course, Harris opened the evening with remarks about God’s Love We Deliver’s mission and history. Last year, the organization delivered over 4 million medically tailored meals to New Yorkers in need and opened their new Liberty Bklyn distribution center.
While accepting her award, Louis-Dreyfus reflected on her own health journey with breast cancer and the invaluable importance of care and nurturance and while sick.
“I love the work that they do and it’s so fundamental and it’s so critical, particularly for people who are in urgent situations,” she said earlier in the night. “Let’s face it, eating is the most important thing for life. One must have food — it’s critical. The fact that they provide meals to those in very urgent needs is very important.”