Going out for a smoke in two degrees below zero while dressed in couture? “We're phenomenal, and don't be afraid for the dresses. That's why we're wearing bathrobes” says Gabrielle Janssens de Balkany , one of the 19 young women from international royalty and high society appearing in this year's edition of Le Bal , the charity-focused debutante ball organized since 1994 by Ophélie Renouard .

The evening before the event, Renouard moves between the different rooms unperturbed and gives instructions without opening her mouth, as the participants posted Tik Toks and stubbed out slim cigarettes on the terrace of the Shangri-La Hotel. Her burgundy tweed jacket and her multi-strand pearl necklaces—all Chanel, bien sûr —give her an extra sense of authority.

Isabelle de Orleans, in An

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