A few weeks before the crowning of a new Miss France, another princess ball was the talk of the town this weekend. That of the “Debutante Ball”, which was held on Saturday evening in Paris, bringing together around twenty hand-picked young women.
Among them, Countess Alienor Loppin de Montmort, Princess Eugenie de Bourbon, Lucia Sofia Pontin, the granddaughter of actress Sophia Loren and Apple Martin, the daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, the leader of the group Coldplay. You will have understood, only beautiful people. But what exactly is this ball? And who can participate?
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An old tradition
The Debutante Ball has its ancestors in an old British tradition from the 18th century, during which young girls from the world's high society were inducted, explained an article in the Point in 2015. These “debutantes”, aged 18 – and recently left the convent – were officially presented to the Queen of England during this ball, dressed in dresses and tiaras. But that's not all. This event was also an opportunity to present suitors to them, in order to establish new links and future marriages between young people from good families (the rallies of the time, basically).
Princess Margaret, the sister of Elizabeth II, put an end to this tradition in 1953. However, balls were organized in this spirit for around fifteen years in France, from the end of the 1950s to the 1970s.
Obligatory haute couture
After years of absence, the “Bal” reappeared in 1992, in a new light. “In reality, I never wanted to return to the idea of the traditional ball. In 1992 and 1993, the evening took the form of a haute couture fashion show with pretty young girls from well-known families,” explained its organizer Ophélie Renouard, in an article in Madame Figaro.
The event has since taken the form of a social evening, organized each year in Paris, at the end of autumn, generally in places that are not too gross – like the luxury hotel Shangri-La, last Saturday – . These bamboches bring together around twenty young women, nicknamed the “Deb” (short for “beginner”), as well as their partners and their loved ones. Important detail: all participants are required to wear haute couture, there is no question of treading the dance floor in vulgar ready-to-wear clothes.
The goal of the evening? Dancing, eating, networking and celebrating these participants’ entry “into the world of sewing and media”. “In the age of Facebook, we no longer enter the world. The world has exploded,” emphasized the organizer in 2017. Furthermore, the event also aims to raise funds for associations.
Princesses and “daughters of”
Ordinary people do not have access to this prestigious java, only happy few can claim it, and only by invitation (“it is not possible to purchase tickets to attend or participate in the Ball”, it is specified on the event website). Ophélie Renouard herself constitutes the casting of each edition, choosing the lucky ones from the four corners of the world, among the requests she receives and the profiles she spots. Every year, there is a mix of princesses and “daughters”. In previous years, the event has seen Sophia-Rose, the daughter of Sylvester Stallone, Scout and Tallulah Willis, the children of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, but also the daughter of Clint Eastwood, that of Forest Whitaker…
Some candidates are also selected for particular qualities. In 2015, for example, the Ball included among its guests the young Olivia Hallisey, a 16-year-old American high school student, awarded for her invention of a screening test for the Ebola virus. It’s not “Deb” who wants…
