Who will attend Le Bal des Débutantes 2023 – and what happened at last year’s event? An inside look at the glamorous affair in Paris for young royals, celebrities and A-listers
- Ophélie Renouard founded Le Bal in 1994 as a modern, philanthropic update to historic debutante balls in the UK, with last year’s swish party taking place at Shangri-La hotel
- Famous attendees have included Reese Witherspoon’s daughter Ava Phillippe, Phil Collins’ child and Emily in Paris star Lily Collins, Sean Connery’s granddaughter Natasha, and Olympic skier Eileen Gu
Around this time last year, I was in Paris, and Le Bal des Débutantes, the world’s most exclusive debutante ball, was just 48 hours away.
At the end of a long hallway at the Shangri-La Hotel, once the palatial residence of a descendant of Napoleon Bonaparte, 18 young women were preparing for their society debuts.
It was a trial run before the main event, but there was a hum of excited chatter among the girls. Most were meeting for the first time. Some descended from ancient royal dynasties; others were children of entertainment titans or business moguls.
Teale Burrell had a solution in mind. The day before, she’d been playing with some fishing wire – which is malleable, transparent and strong – and thought it would be perfect for securing the diadem in place.
Then 17, Teale was one of the youngest debutantes in Le Bal’s 2022 class.
She was also my ticket to the glitzy event, where I spent an evening as a fly on the wall – witnessing displays of staggering wealth and privilege, unlike anything I’d seen before.
A year later, it’s still a night I’ll never forget.