On November thirteenth, the Paris attacks shook the world. Many took to social media to express their concern and hopes for better days to come. After discovering the news, I messaged Ophélie Renouard to ensure she was safe. She responded with “All safe! Thank you! Let’s resume life as usual. Love, Ophélie,” highlighting that a life lived in fear is much more frightening. Paris seemed to have adapted to the same mindset—jumping back in full swing—with positivity radiating and Christmas lights and decorations lining the streets.

Debutante balls have been a European tradition for centuries. In 1992, Ophélie Renouard founded Le Bal des Débutantes, an event famous for keeping classic traditions of glamming up and waltzing. It is the only debutante ball where tickets are not available; it is by “invite only.” It also places high importance on charities. This year’s proceeds benefitted the Seleni Institute, displaying the gravity of mental health awareness. In previous years, the ball’s donations would go to Enfants d’Asie, sponsoring education for girls in South East Asia (including the Philippines), which have been supported by deb alumni such as Natalia Zobel de Ayala, Marie Victoire, and Julia Piaton. Other past debutantes include Scout and Tallulah Willis, Lily Collins, Bee Shaffer, Kathleen and Kyra Kennedy, Sophia-Rose Stallone, Lauren Bush, and one of my best friends from a summer camp in 2009, Ashna Mehta.

In addition, this event has now grown to be more about forming friendships and making the most out of the memories. If you put 20 girls in a room from morning to evening for three days straight, you would expect at least a little bit of cattiness. But, I promise you, there was none of it. It was one of the most refreshing experiences. We had the likes of Countesses Sarah and Victoria Faber-Castell from the world-renowned pencil manufacturing company, Princess Anastasia Diaz Pallavicini of Rome, and Olivia Hallisey, who not only won a 2015 Google Science award for discovering an affordable way to diagnose Ebola, but is also a competitive swimmer. They all are such genuine people; so down-toearth and fun-loving that their names and achievements came second to their magnetic personalities. The weekend was filled with sincere compliments, constant laughter, and memories from the very beginning. I went to the ball hoping to leave with a handful of new friends; however, I found genuine friendships in every single one of the girls. There was an honest bond between all of us that I felt like I had known them for years. I would gladly fly or take a train for any one of them for any reason at all. A week after the ball, I met up with the other debutantes living in the UK, such as Kareen Fares from Lebanon, Klió Kosuth from the US, and Zara Fistolera from Nepal, for lunch at Electric Diner. After this, we began to plan a summer trip with each other, and mini trips for the time in between, which just goes to show that the bonds we all had formed were going to last. At that point, we were still receiving a flurry of messages from the other debutantes on our WhatsApp group.

The Le Bal experience begins two days prior to the event, with the first and second day consisting of photo shoots at Maison Champs Elysées and being dolled up by the hair and make-up dream team—MAC Cosmetics and Alexandre de Paris. They absolutely spoil you like no other! Our dressing room was filled with couture and haute couture dresses and lines of Christian Louboutin shoes. Seeing Payal New York’s jewellery for the first time was like the scene from The Princess Diaries II, where Queen Clarisse Renaldi reveals all the royal jewels to Mia Thermopolis. I felt like I was living the movie.

On the second day of shoots, on the side of my eye I saw Tim Griffiths and Anton San Diego walk into the room, and I got excited to see some familiar faces. They notified me about the Tatler shoot that would take place. An hour later, in full hair and makeup, white and yellow Payal New York diamonds, 12-centimetre metallic Christian Louboutins, and Vivienne Westwood couture, we walked down the Champs Elysées to the carousel by the Parisienne Christmas markets. It reminded me of when my mum would take my childhood friend Libby and I to a mall with a carousel in it after school. This would occur once a week from when I was four to six. We would go on it for hours on end and would never tire. They would quite literally have to pry our hands off of it. Our next location was across the street by the market’s claw machines, which further made me reminisce my childhood pretending I knew how to play games in arcades. Truthfully, I would simply press on the buttons aimlessly. Still, I loved how everything seamlessly interlinked. Whether it was because I overanalysed the situations, or because life meant it to happen serendipitously.

The second day ended with waltz rehearsals with our fathers and cavaliers. Being put into a new setting, like the ball, I decided it would be best to allow Ophélie and her team to assign a cavalier to me. I was already going to be out of my comfort zone, so why not? They assigned me to Viscount Emilion de Roquefeuil whom I got along with on the get-go. During my first dress fitting, Ophélie was excited to tell me she had paired us together for the ball—and with good reason. He is extremely charming and funny. I have two left feet, so the idea of dancing made me anxious. Nevertheless, he was good at leading and distracting me with conversation.

I went to dinner with Iman Perez, Sonia Ben Ammar, Ines de Bragança, Gloria de Limburg Stirum, Zofia Krasicki v Siecin, the Faber-Castell twins, as well as a few of the cavaliers afterwards. Though there was no change in conversation, it was lovely to spend time with them out of couture, in casual clothing and more comfortable shoes.

On the morning of the ball, the girls and I were driven to the Palais de Chaillot in deep purple Renault cars that were adorned with the ball’s logo for rehearsals. The Faber-Castell twins, my roommate Vanessa Wang, and I were like high school juniors going to prom, asking the driver to open the sunroof sticking our arms out to take Snapchat videos of “la Tour Eiffel.” We did not realise we would only take a short turn to get to the venue. Even in daylight, the set-up was already stunning with a close view of the Eiffel Tower greeting us from the windows. Chandeliers of cream flowers draped from the ceilings, with round tables that were circled with gold chairs, beneath them. White carpet ran through the centre of the room for the debutantes to parade down. The enchanting atmosphere was heightened in the evening, with the perfect lighting and music. The debutantes were introduced one at a time with their cavaliers. The guests released such a positive energy that I felt quite comfortable walking through the room.

The designer that sponsored me for the big event was Vivienne Westwood whose dress craftsmanship is akin to those seen in Disney Princess, with the bonus of being as comfortable as sweats. She knows how to balance traditional technique with a modern and edgy twist parallel to Le Bal itself. I had three fittings with the Vivienne Westwood team—one for selecting, one for the fitting of the final dress, and the third to ensure I knew exactly how to put it on. On the first day of fittings, I walked down the stairs of the Westwood boutique. The red fabric that peeped from the centre of the rails immediately popped out at me. Ophélie turned to me asking if it were the one I should try on first or one we should work up to. We had two and a half hours to fit and be photographed in as many pieces as possible. I must have tried on a dozen dresses, to say the least. But, I think we were certain it would be the one I would pick before trying any of them on. The gown I chose was a bold red colour with a tinge of orange. It consists of three pieces and was inspired by Boucher’s paintings with its drapes mimicking his brushstrokes. This is especially interesting to me, having just finished studying Rococo art at my university. Bustles have been added to this dress for the first time, especially done for me. It is beautiful and simple, but behind that simplicity is a highly technical and very carefully constructed dress.

As a child, I was mesmerised by the colour red. Why? I have never been quite sure. However, the first time my parents took me to Paris I stopped them as we passed the stores. I had seen a red dress in the window that was ten sizes too big, but I was convinced it was compulsory for me to own… even after an explanation as to why it was impractical. I find it wonderful that, 18 years later, I am being “launched into society” in a red dress that fits perfectly—and in Vivienne Westwood, no less.

Being a 20-year-old in London, studying fashion design, work can be very demanding—but when there’s a will, there’s a way! I finished as much work as I could and took a flight to Paris on the 25th of November; getting to Paris just in time to ring in my dad’s special day. Ever since I can remember, my dad has asked me what I want to do for his birthday. Never once has he denied my requests, and this year wasn’t any different. He flew to London, then Paris, socialised with the other debutantes’ parents, and learnt how to waltz. We did not practice before the rehearsals, but my dad was sweet enough to pore over YouTube tutorials to mentally prepare himself for what was to come. It would be the first time we would dance together. I chose to not have a cotillion for my debut. The idea of that much attention terrified me. The ball was the perfect opportunity for our first waltz—I was sharing the experience with 19 other debutantes and their fathers.

After being introduced by Stéphane Bern twice, once with our cavaliers, then next on our own, we had a Michelin star meal before the next event on the programme—the waltz. The music quickly transitioned to contemporary music performed by a live band. We danced at the Chaillot until two in the morning, and then gradually walked downstairs to return our jewellery before leaving—it was the Cinderella effect. Our Louboutins became more of a handheld accessory, rather than shoes. So, we may have “lost” them a lot earlier on in the night, which is somewhat of an unspoken Le Bal tradition. The ball was over and we slowly had to return to being the typical girls we were.

I would like to thank Ophélie, the whole “Le Bal” team, my parents, the debutantes, as well as Anton San Diego for this experience. It was such an honour to be the fifth Filipina ever to represent the country in a ball that has been recognised by Forbes Magazine as one of the top social events anticipated annually. It was nothing short of amazing. The only thing I could possibly complain about was having to test my willpower to deny the platefuls of macarons they left out for us to eat. And, hey, I was able to do that too.

Photography by Tim Griffiths | Art Direction by Anton San Diego | Clothes by Vivienne Westwood | Jewellery by Payal New York | Shoes by Christian Louboutin | Make-Up by MAC Cosmetics | Hair by Alexandre de Paris

Read more about Dominique's fairy-tale adventure in Paris in the February 2016 issue of Philippine Tatler. Available in all leading newsstands and bookstores, downloadable via Magzter, Zinio, and PressReader.