Party like its 1899 Why some young powerful women still want to be debutantes

The event began with an opening dance, then the "debutantes lined up for a waltz with their fathers" before being "passed on to their cavaliers". "Family and other guests sat at tables in golden chairs and took it all in, as the chandelier ceiling dripped with decadence."

- Esther Addley

Those sentences were written not in the 18th century but earlier this week, when Vogue reported on an event in Paris that one may consider, on the strength of the jewels on display alone, had just a whiff of the ancien régime.

That was Le Bal des Déb

utantes, an annual invitation-only event at which 20 or so well-born young women from around the world are dressed in haute couture, adorned with gems and paired with a hand-picked "chevalier", to appear at "a modern debutante ball that places emphasis on individuality and sartorial self-expression".

This year's event attracted particular publicity thanks to the presence of Apple Martin, the 20-year-old daughter of Coldplay's Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow. She wore a "stunning, silk plissé chiffon baby blue gown with a big black bow by Alessandro Michele for Valentino, which took 750 hours to create". Although "partnered with her cavalier Leo Cosima Henckel von Donnersmarck", she also managed to fit in an awkward waltz with her beaming father.