Your Invitation

Nov 2

Inside The Retaility’s dinner party honoring Jordana Brewster

Photography by Emma McIntyre & Morgan Foitle for TheRetaility.com

Overlooking the San Gabriel Mountains, a small group of creatives, entrepreneurs, and tastemakers including Jordana Brewster and Abigail Spencer gathered on a beautiful October evening at a private Los Angeles residence in Laurel Canyon for an intimate The Retaility hosted dinner party held in Brewster’s honor.

Planned in a COVID-safe fashion, the alfresco evening included passed appetizers with Roe Caviar, a three-course meal, live music, and stunning flowers by Spencer's County Line Florals. Cozy alpaca wool blankets from Los Angeles designer Janessa Leone were draped over each guest’s chair.

Guests arrived in style thanks to Cadillac, a necessity given the dinner party’s remote location, which features stunning views of the Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory.

Fittingly, California label Doen dressed guests including The Retaility’s founder Lindzi Scharf and Spencer in canyon chic looks. “I’d been wanting a patchwork moment,” Spencer said, referencing her festive Nicolette dress, which includes gorgeous gigot sleeves and eyelet trim. Meanwhile, Scharf, pregnant with her second child, wore the brand’s Kaira dress featuring an evergreen winter ditsy print.

Brewster, who attended with fiancé Mason Morfit, opted for a playful two-piece look by Brock Collection paired with a black Jennifer Behr bow tied into her hair and a diamond necklace around her neck.

Other attendees included New York Times bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid, celebrity hairstylists Ted Gibson and Jason Backe, talent manager Liz York, fashion journalist Ryma Chikhoune, marketing guru Betsy Simon, and Scharf’s photographer husband Michael Buckner.

Chef Olivia Muniak of La Cura created the menu in collaboration with event sponsors Apeel, Bragg, and Landmark Vineyards. The three-course meal included: Chicories, Bragg warm apple cider vinaigrette & Apeel apples walnuts, ricotta salata & herbs as a starter – paired with 2017 Landmark Vineyards Overlook Chardonnay, Sonoma County; striped bass pan seared with onion soubise with grilled bok choy, hazelnut salsa verde, and Bragg extra virgin olive oil & apple cider vinegar for the main course – paired with 2018 Landmark Vineyards Grand Detour Pinot Noir; and an Apeel apple brown butter tart with salted caramel & whipped creme fraiche for dessert – paired with Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar Refreshers.

The night sparked joy and genuine conversation – with Brewster reflecting on her career and how the film industry has shifted over time. “We grew up where being on the cover of Maxim and capitalizing off of it for beauty and your body was the way to go,” Brewster told Chikhoune, who wrote a story about the night for WWD. “And now it’s so different. That’s actually not what we’re about anymore as women, and it’s just so empowering and wonderful to be in the position we’re in now. I actually wish I could turn back time and be 30, you know? It’s just a much better time to be a woman in this industry today.”

Meanwhile, Reid dished on what fans of her New York Times bestselling book “Daisy Jones & the Six” can expect from the upcoming Reese Witherspoon-produced Amazon television series. “I’ve had other books that have hit various levels of development,” Reid told WWD. “Daisy Jones is the first one where, when I looked at the scripts, I could no longer tell what was from the book and what was new, because what the writing team, specifically Scott Neustadter, had done is something that elongates the story, that digs more into the moments that exists in it, but feels like the book.”

Guests left with an Apolis x The Retaility tote bag that included clean beauty pioneer Josie Maran’s argan sugar balm body scrub, designer Lan Jaenicke’s signature coconut oil candle, a gift card for custom sandals from Anita Patrickson’s Amanu, a set of four speckled white mugs from Fable, a gift card for Doen, and Bragg’s apple cider vinegar prebiotic shot in ginger turmeric – all companies that have been featured on the site's signature “Lust List.”