The starting gun on the glittering calendar of festive galas and parties in Paris is arguably the biggest and most curious of them all: Le Bal des Débutantes.
An event whose raison d’être eludes logic in 2013, the ball involves 20 girls from all over the world arriving at Place de la Concorde in black cars, each wearing a dress fitted by a different couture house. Following suit, parents and relatives will step on to the red carpet in requisite black tie or long evening gowns.
This year’s ball took place last weekend at the Auto-mobile Club de France, next to the Hôtel de Crillon, the ball’s traditional home, which is being refurbished.