TIM GRIFFITHS
You might think the age of the aristocratic marriage market is long gone, and you’d be right, but not that of the debutante ball. Melissa Twigg meets a cohort of glamorous young women with a lot more than marriage on their minds
This architectural photographer is on the job once more to photograph the lovely ladies of le Bal des Débutantes in “Coming of Age” and
What’s the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of love?
I pretended to be an expert snowboarder even though I’ve never skied before. I even faked it in head to toe Ralph Lauren. Luckily, the mountain was private so I didn’t crash into anyone!
Best romance film you’ve watched?
Casablanca from the classics; Pretty Woman is dated, but still great; and Weekend, for something contemporary.
Most thoughtful gift you’ve received?
The Warhol catalogue from the Whitney retrospective which, just published, was unavailable in England then!
Love song on repeat?
Kirsty Hawkshaw can sing in my ear any time.
If you had a dating app account, what would your bio read?
Probably the truth.
Who’d have thought a debutante ball would be a hotbed of feminism? Traditionally, these glittering events were designed to introduce well-born young women into society to attract suitable husbands, so they weren’t exactly the apex of equality and female empowerment. But try telling that to the 19 young women who recently made their debuts in Paris at le Bal des Débutantes, a glamorous group of lawyers, doctors, journalists, and actresses all possessed of a sense of destiny and a desire to play a role in changing the world.
“All the girls were down-to-earth and friendly. All of them attended top universities, so it’s a group of girls who are privileged but also work really hard” —Annabel Yao
“Oh, I definitely think it’s feminist. It’s about celebrating female talent—and we all care more about what we’re doing professionally or educationally than the way we look. And it’s just fun,” said True Whitaker, a willowy American journalism student who opened the night’s dancing with her father, Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker, in the ornate ballroom of the Shangri-La Hotel, Paris.
Le Bal, as it’s known, was a delicious spectacle to witness. Earlier, standing in the ballroom a few hours before True and her confrères were to be presented to Parisian society, my eyes drank in the old-world beauty of the venue and the lavishly dressed young women whose lace, velvet, and silk skirts were strewn across the Louis XV furniture on which they were posing, looking for all the world as if they had just fallen out of a fairy tale.
Rather than seeking Prince Charming, though, these beautiful women had more on their minds than boys, brands, and beauty products. They had spent the whole afternoon discussing modern politics. But more than their gold-plated CVs, political awareness, and multilingual skill, I was impressed by how generous they were with one another. Women have been taught for centuries to eye each other up as potential competition. In covering similar events in the past, I have seen how this can quickly turn to infighting, and I have no doubt that had I been a deb at 18, I would have been anxiously wondering whether I was as pretty and slim as my peers.
There was none of that when these debutantes gathered at the Shangri-La, formerly the Palais Iéna, built in 1896 as the home of Prince Roland Bonaparte. Instead, throughout their preparation, training, and photo shoots, the women kept stopping to admire one another’s clothes and to teach each other poses, keeping up a non-stop stream of easy compliments.
At one point, the wonderfully confident Julia McCaw, daughter of US telecoms tycoon Craig McCaw, attempted a ballet-like pose on a mantelpiece, one slender leg hanging precariously in the air as her Giambattista Valli gown floated around her. Half the girls were in hysterics, while the other half were documenting the moment in awe, with at least five shots uploaded to separate Instagram accounts. Envy, it seems, has gone the way of CD players and Blockbuster.
It is hard to look at these beautiful young women in their haute couture gowns and not long to spend a day in their designer shoes. Since le Bal des Débutantes was launched in 1992 by the French PR maven Ophélie Renouard, it has become the most coveted gala of its kind among the daughters of European aristocrats, Asian tycoons, and American business and showbiz types. A number of debutante balls take place around the world, from Queen Charlotte’s Ball in London to the Vienna Opera Ball, but le Bal remains the pinnacle.
This is partly because it is strictly by invitation only, and it’s the only one that requires debutantes to don couture gowns— with the debs and designers matched by Ophélie—paired with jewellery by Payal New York. Add to that the old-world style of Parisian palaces like the Shangri-La, and you’ve got the kind of party that drowns its guests in glamour and gossip.
The event also raises money for two charities that support women, continuing the feminist theme. Participating families are asked to make donations to the Seleni Institute, a non-profit organisation that helps women and teenage mothers deal with mental health issues, and Enfants d’Asie, a humanitarian association that promotes the education of girls and women in South East Asia.
On their big night in the Shangri-La’s stunning ballroom, where the gilt mirrors and Louis XV furniture battled for the limelight with vases overflowing with pink peonies, the young women shone. Presented by radio and television host Stéphane Bern, they wended their way confidently and elegantly through the tables on the arms of handsome cavaliers.
The 19 debutantes came from eight countries, reflecting the diversity of the new global elite. Mainland China’s Annabel Yao, a 21-yearold Harvard computer science student and ballerina, is the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei. “All the girls were down-toearth and friendly. No one was pretentious,” said Annabel, who was dressed in pale pink J Mendel on the night. “All of them attended top universities like Stanford, Brown, and Columbia, so it’s a group of girls who are privileged but also work really hard.”