The 2025 edition of Le Bal des Débutantes, the annual debutante ball in Paris, is set to take place on 29 November at the Shangri-La Hotel, a former palace of Prince Roland Bonaparte overlooking the Eiffel Tower. The event, which dates back to 1957, will see young women from royal, aristocratic, and influential families across more than five nations formally enter society.
Originally a traditional ball held at the Paris Opera with the aim of finding a suitable husband, the event was revamped in 1997 by Ophélie Renouard. The modern version shifts the focus onto the debutantes, with male escorts often supplied by the organisers. Participating families make donations to charities such as the ARCFA research unit at Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital and the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in New York.
Among the 2025 debutantes is Eulalia de Orleans-Borbón, a student of economics and finance at St Andrews and a distant cousin of King Juan Carlos of Spain. She will wear haute couture by Tony Ward and be escorted by Albert Windsor, the Duke of Kent's 18-year-old grandson. Carolina Lansing, granddaughter of fashion designer Carolina Herrera, will honour her grandmother in a polka-dot dress by Wes Gordon, reminiscent of Herrera’s first collection.
Other debutantes include Almudena Dailly de Orléans, goddaughter of King Juan Carlos, who will wear Christian Dior in tribute to her mother’s wedding gown; Princess Eugenie of Hohenzollern, a fashion student and advocate for orphans, wearing a gown by Édouard Vermeulen; and Joséphine Haas, a student at IE University in Madrid. The ball continues to blend tradition with modern philanthropy and celebrity.
