You’d be forgiven for mistaking the annual Le Bal des Débutantes for the Met Gala or a Hollywood awards ceremony.
After all, it has nepo babies dressed in haute couture and glittering tiaras ascending down a grand staircase while they’re watched by some of the most well-regarded faces in fashion, Hollywood and high society.
But Saturday night’s ball, held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Paris overlooking the Eiffel Tower, is even more exclusive than a glitzy Hollywood party.
This weekend 19 belles from well-to-do families all over the world made their debut at Le Bal in Paris. Each It-girl had their centre-stage moment with their equally dapper escorts before taking to the dance floor in scenes reminiscent of Bridgerton.
The ball – which has previously seen the likes of Apple Martin, Lily Collins and Ava Phillippe make their debut – is aimed at cultured young ladies entering society for the first time.
This year, Eulalia de Orleans-Borbón, the daughter of businessman Álvaro de Orleans-Borbón and the goddaughter of King Juan Carlos, her father’s distant cousin, was escorted to by a British royal, Albert Windsor.
The 18-year-old grandson of the Duke of Kent and the late Duchess of Kent, who was last month crowned ‘Britain’s most eligible bachelor’ by Tatler, played the role of Prince Charming yesterday in a white bow-tie, offering his arm to Eulalia.
Eulalia, 19, made her debut in a remarkable champagne embroidered dress by Lebanese designer Tony Ward.
The multilingual socialite currently studies financial economics at the royal-loved University of St Andrews, where Lady Louise is currently completing her English degree.
Elsewhere, Bronwyn Vance, daughter of Hollywood legend Angela Bassett, made her debut – alongside Lady Araminta Spencer-Churchill, known to friends as ‘Minty’ – a distant cousin of both Princess Diana and Winston Churchill.
The ladies were seen posing in an exquisite ballroom, before taking to the dancefloor for a series of songs, dressed to the nines in Armani and Dior.
This year, Lady Araminta Spencer-Churchill, the daughter of the 12th Duke of Marlborough and his second wife, Edla Griffiths, the Duchess of Marlborough, had all eyes on her as she stepped out donning a spectacular Armani Privé gown.
In addition to royal ties by way of her great-aunt Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill, who was a maid-of-honour at Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953, the debutante has already made a name for herself.
The 18-year-old is an accomplished equestrian, with her love and dedication to the sport seeing her represent Great Britain in various tournaments all over the world.
No stranger to grit, she currently balances Olympic ambitions with studying at Oxford Brookes University.
Also in attendance was Carolina Lansing, granddaughter of renowned fashion designer Carolina Herrera, who looked ultra-chic in a monochrome polka-dot strapless gown created by Wes Gordon, creative director of the Carolina Herrera label.
She paired her breathtaking ensemble with a black choker and a large bow, which she tied around the frock, paying homage to her grandmother as it was inspired by one of her ‘classic designs’.
Carolina told HELLO! magazine: ‘This dress is a nod to my grandma’s first collection; the black-and-white and polka-dots are reminiscent of it, and are also a classic Carolina Herrera look.
‘Plus we’ve woven a little yellow bow on to the inside hem to pay homage to the first Good Girl perfume.’
The 21-year-old is the daughter of Patricia Cristina Lansing and is currently studying communications at a university in the US, according to the publication.
Bronwyn Vance, daughter of Hollywood actress Angela Bassett, chose a Stephane Rolland haute couture gown.
The angelic white off-the-shoulder dress was embroidered with gold ivy-esque detailing draped across the bodice.
Speaking of the impressive design, Bronwyn told the magazine that she felt like a ‘Disney princess’, adding: ‘It is probably the largest gown at the ball this year, so I definitely will make a statement when I’m in a room, and it’s a bit annoying for other people to walk around me, so I feel bad for that.’
Accompanied by twin brother and ‘best friend’ Slater Vance, videos of Bronwyn showed her gracefully floating through the crowd as she had her moment in the spotlight.
Ruby Kemper also has an impressive heritage and is the granddaughter of Kirk Kerkorian, the former owner of MGM Studios, now owned by Amazon.
She was escorted by Gabriel Gledhill, a handsome British skier and model who was previously on the cover of Tatler.
Eager to make her mark on society, Ruby donned a stunning, delicate pink dress by the Hollywood brand, Chrome Hearts.
Ella Wadia, whose great-great-grandfather, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founded Pakistan, donned a gorgeous gold gown by Lebanese designer Elie Saab.
Eliza Lindroth, whose ancestor is Swedish inventor Martin Wiberg, who is credited with creating the first compact machine capable of printing logarithmic tables, decided to wear a sweeping white sequin gown by Rick Owens.
She was joined by Antonius Meijer, a scion of the French family that owns the Château Giscours vineyard.
Sarah Bae, the daughter of billionaire Joseph Bae, who is the co-CEO of global investment firm KKR and former ELLE editor Janice Lee, made history yesterday as Le Bal’s first Korean American debutante.
The 17-year-old chose to wear a frock by Oscar de la Renta for the big event, but told Tatler she was worried about her heels not being high enough, as she is 5’4.
‘But I am also not that good at walking in high heels!’ she added.
Singer and pianist Isabelle von Perfall was not the only von Perfall attending Le Bal this year.
In fact, all three of the von Perfall siblings – the children of Baron Alexander von Perfall, who is descended from Bavarian nobility – were at the highly anticipated event, and Isabelle was joined by her brother Felix while their other brother Nicholas escorted Araminta Spencer-Churchill.
Isabelle wore a black embroidered gown by Filipino designer Monique Lhuillier – whose bridal designs have been worn by the rich and famous, including Britney Spears, Reese Witherspoon and Carrie Underwood.
Jillian Chan belongs to East Asian film royalty as the daughter of acclaimed Chinese-Thai director Peter Chan, one of the most prominent directors in Chinese cinema, and Hong Kong actress, film director and producer Sandra Ng.
But that’s not where her film heritage ends – her paternal grandfather, Chan Tung Man, was a writer-director and a columnist, while her maternal grandfather was Kenneth Ng Kam Tsun, a renowned actor in Hong Kong.
She stepped out at Le Bal in a gown by Lebanese designer Georges Hobeika, with Greek bachelor Nikolas Manos by her side.
Alice Wang is the daughter of Stella Li, the CEO of BYD Americas and Chuanfu Wang, founder of Chinese manufacturing behemoth BYD – the company behind the world’s top electric car company.
Her designer of choice was the exceptionally talented Vera Wang as she entered wearing a strapless ruby red gown on the arm of Baron Heinrich von Frankenstein.
Princess Isabelle de Orleans, the great-granddaughter of Henri d’Orleans and the youngest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Chartres, opted for a gown by Italian designer Antonio Grimaldi.
She was escorted by her relative, Constantin d’Orleans, who also acted as Peyton Spaht’s cavalier last year.
Dressed in pale pink Schiaparelli haute couture, Reagan Sacks was joined by Jason Schwarz, a pharma heir, as she made her society debut.
She is the daughter of David Sacks, chairman of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, who is known to have been acquainted with Elon Musk and Peter Thiel.
Gabrielle Janssens de Balkany, 21, turned heads in a gown by Italian designer Luisa Beccaria, as she was accompanied by her brother, Tomasso.
Almudena Dailly de Orleans, the 21-year-old goddaughter of the former Spanish King Juan Carlos, brought a distinctly Parisian flair to Le Bal in a Christian Dior gown, whereas Eugénie of Hohenzollern, the daughter of Prince Albert and Princess Natalia of Hohenzollern, sported Belgian designer Édouard Vermeulen.
She was accompanied by Count Ascanio di Carpegna Brivio. Her date is a dashing young Italian count who last year attended the same event alongside Oona Finch, granddaughter of the Australian actor Peter Finch.
Josephine Haas, daughter of Sébastiaen Haas, a lawyer specialising in film law, and Claire-Sophie, the marketing and communications director for Rexel, a major French firm, chose Chinese designer Guo Pei.
She stepped in her mesmerising look alongside the dashing Italian Count Brando Leonardo Borletti Dell’Acqua.
Greek heiress Eirini Zarifi, born to parents Anna-Krystyna, whose family made a name through a shipping business, sported British designer Deborah Milner, the former head of the Alexander McQueen couture studio.
On her arm for this year’s Le Bal was Gabriel de Kergorlay of France, who was seen attending last year’s event alongside Apollonie Halard.
Alexandra Moxey, whose father was a former executive at Virgin Records and is the founder of independent publishing company Ultra International Music Publishing, also joined the other debutantes in celebrating their first steps in the spotlight.
