Let Them Le Bal!

Couture gowns diamond tiaras, and Tik Tok: Inside the world's most lavish debutante ball.

- BY KRISTEN BATEMAN

Le Bal des Débutantes held at the Paris Opera in 1962.

Bronwyn Golden Vance, daughter of Angela Bassett, is watching the French haute couture designer Stéphane Rolland sketch her gown at his minimalist atelier, as the blindingly bright summer sun streams through the floor-to-ceiling windows, hitting the wall's sculptural crown molding at all the right angles on a July day in Paris. Seeing Rolland at work—with his deep brunette lion's mane of hair and dramatic movements—is akin to experiencing a piece of live performance art. Vance, wearing a blue-and-ivory-striped sweater with stacks of delicate gold necklaces and white baggy jeans, is joined by her mother, father, brother, and Ophélie Renouard, founder of Le Bal des Débutantes, all there to support her and review designs as one of the atelier's petite mains has her stand to take measurements. It's just four months out from the fantasy-inducing Le Bal that will take place in Paris on Thanksgiving weekend, and “the debs,” as attendees are called, are deep in the throes of creating a dress that will deliver the wow factor to make headlines in high society and the fashion world alike.

Vance, with her cheerful demeanor and down-to-earth personality, is your average 19-year-old Harvard sophomore. She normally dresses in jeans, thrifted designer pieces, and sweaters borrowed from her mom; she rarely wears heels. She's studying film and sociology, and spent part of her summer interning with a real estate company. But between it all, she is preparing for the world's most exclusive debutante ball. “It just feels like you are a princess for one night,” Vance says, in awe. “It's a beautiful ceremony to allow girls to feel extremely special for one night. I wanted to be a part of something so beautiful, so spectacular, that I probably won't be able to experience again.”