HughE Dillon: Rittenhouse Row Fall Gathering

The chock-full closing evening of the Philadelphia Collection last Thursday saw the annual Rittenhouse Row Fall Gathering held once again at the Comcast Center. The event featured fall trends in fashion, beauty, food and mixology, and there was a fashion show featuring clothing from Rittenhouse Row stores. Attorney-in-training Alexander Hankin is wearing threads you can pick up at Joan Shepp’s new men’s store, and Michelle Cassidy, senior community manager for Yelp.com in Philadelphia, is flaunting an eye-catching dress from Arcadia Boutique.
 

 
There was a competition between bartenders judged by a panel of notables who can really hold their liquor—as there were 23 bars and restaurants creating spirited drinks. Below: Judges included Dan Gross, Philadelphia Daily News, Art Etchells, Philadelphia magazine’s Foobooz, and Marisa Magnatta, of WMMR.
 

 
I ran into four lovely ladies at the cocktail party who would be walking in the night’s fashion show: Jennifer Brown, regional marketing director at Ladder 15, Emily Goulet, lifestyle editor at Philly Mag, Katie Karlsen and Katie English. Their clothes are from Knit Wit, and hair done by Sephora—except for Katie English, whose hair was done by Jen at Jason Matthews.
 

 
Below: Jose Garces and daughter Olivia were excited to come out to support wife/mom Beatriz Garces‘s walk in the annual fashion show. Beatriz Garces is wearing an outfit by SAVA. The Garces family tells me they are excited for the inaugural gala for the Garces Family Foundation, which will be held October 10th at the Kimmel Center. Speaking of the Kimmel Center, last week, Jose Garces hosted an event to celebrate the newly renovated roof garden there. Garces has taken over as in-house chef, a position previously held by Wolfgang Puck. The new space is gorgeous, with walls and a roof, which helps regulate the temperature, which was one of the problems with the space before the renovations. The view is still spectacular.
 

 
Below: Brendan Walsh, co-founder of Mole Street Productions, walks in the fashion show sporting styles from Duke & Winston. Other people who walked included Jesse and Beka Rendell and Brett Copol. Spotted in the audience were Michelle Boyles, Andrea Sasso-Greco, Tristin Fabro, J.t. Christianson, and Jane and Joe Wolfe.
 

 
Did you know Termini Brothers has a place inside Comcast at the food court? Delicious. Below: Alyssa Phipps, retail manager, Michael Bernardo, and Heather Prazza dole out the delicious treats to the guests.
 

 
Below: Philadelphia police officers Cheryle A. Lee and Wayne E. Taylor. The dapper duo attended a few Philadelphia Collection events, including the one at Omega Optical (Comcast Center) on Monday night, where stylist Anthony Henderson awarded Renee Reese and Angela Edwards the “Vision Fashion Award.”
 

 
Below: Enjoying a ladies’ night out, Eden Silverstein, Dana Brayer and Lauren Ferst. Dana said her favorite drink came from Applebee’s. She was surprised. I hear they have a great happy hour. For me, it’s kinda fun going there as I used to work in the building when that space was Bookbinder’s back in the ’90s.
 

 
Below: Kristen Quick, GPTMC, and Ian Swain. The duo told me they enjoyed the light bites provided by The Market and Shops at Comcast Center, especially at DiBruno Brothers and the Mexican Post.
 

 
Below: Mike Cohen tells me he shops at J. Crew, and Luke Hoffman goes for more of the classy comfortable look. Ilana Zdoroujak‘s style is classy and comfortable, and Kaila Dickstein goes for simple and comfortable. All four of them really enjoyed the fantastic drinks and found it easy to mingle with new people, saying “it’s a friendly crowd.”
 

 
Below: David Gaunt, Jason Early and Randyl Case, who just accepted a new job with the Center City District starting in October as their programs and events cordinator, Jesse Rendell, Rendell Management & Consulting, and Jason Bock, Michael Salove Company.
 

 
Below: The bartender competition is done, and judge Collin Keefe from Grubstreet, is still standing, well figuratively. He and wife Holly discuss their favorite drink.
 

 
Below: Coming in second place for the cocktail competition was a drink called “Night in Venice” by Cichetteria 19 mixologists Christie Walsh and Maria Rossi, here with chef/owner Andrea Luca Rossi. Third place went to Table 31.
 

 
Below: The overall winner of the evening was Anwar Morgan of Sbraga, who won with his concoction “Log Cabin Cocktail” that had Knob Creek rye, Dolin sweet vermouth, maple, lemon juice, and black walnut bitters, served in a cinnamon-smoked glass with a rim of applewood-smoked bacon, maple powder and maple sugar. He’s here with Southern Wine & Spirits’ Stephen Jamieson (center) and Melody Binder.