Julia Restoin-Roitfeld: Debutante
vendredi 30 juillet 2010 
Julia Restoin-Roitfeld was 21 years old when she made her stunning debut at Le Bal des Débutantes which takes place annually at Hôtel de Crillon. Mademoiselle Julia was presented to society wearing a leopard print dress by Versace and accompanied by Antoine de Moussac, also of France. I think her departure from the traditional demure white gown works brilliantly; note as well that she opted for a bunch of flowers behind one ear rather than the clichéd tiara. What do you think of Julia's debutante look?
Below is a list of the young women that descended the staircase along with Julia in 2001 with details for each of the debutantes including her country of origin, her escort, his country of origin, and the designer of her gown for the ball. Read The Story of the Ball on the official web site for more about the evolution of this fascinating tradition over the years.
Les "Nouvelles Débutantes" 2001
et leurs Cavaliers
et leurs Maisons de Couture
Barbara Berlusconi, Italy
SAS Prince Dimitri della Torre e Tasso, Italy
Chanel
Laurence de Bourbon-Busset, France
Antoine de Vulpillières, France
Pierre Balmain
SAS Princesse Paola Orleans e Bragança Sapieha, Brazil
Paul de Ponton d'Amécourt, France
Gaultier Paris
Gwenolée de Carmoy, France
Tristan de Silguy, France
Pierre Cardin
Laxmi Dalamal, India
Bharat Singh, India
Lecoanet Hemant
Comtesse Marie-Catherine Douglas, Germany
Charles de Chabaneix, France
Hanae Mori
Kaya Endo, Japan
Gonzague Requillart, France
Louis Feraud
Pilar Fernandez-Susino, Spain
Fernando Ramos de Lucas, Spain
Jean-Louis Scherrer
Amanda Hearst, United States
Charles d'Arcy Irvine, Ireland
Carolina Herrera
Lydia Hearst-Shaw, United States
Matthew Armstrong, United States
Thierry Mugler
Aleksandra Kwasniewska, Poland
Alexis de Béchade, France
Ewa Minge
Mélanie Mallet, France
Geoffroy de Boissieu, France
Yves Saint Laurent
Amélie de Mony-Pajol, France
Adrien de Mony-Pajol, France
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
Julie-Chloé Mougeolle, France
Mathieu Bellahsen, France
Seredin & Vassillev
Violet Naylor-Leyland, United Kingdom
Tom Naylor-Leyland, United Kingdom
Bruce Oldfield
Cleo Pakenham, United Kingdom
David Hogan Hern, United Kingdom
Neil Cunningham
Carolina Partheni-Angelopoulos, Greece
Paul Charles Ricard, France
Givenchy
Olivia Peiretti-Paradisi, Monaco
Victor Leclercq, Monaco
Franck Sorbier
Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, France
Antoine de Moussac, France
Versace
Marquise Laura Serra, Italy
Charles de Nervaux, France
Valentino
Sarah Taylor, United Kingdom
Johnny Weinberg, United Kingdom
Vivienne Westwood
Vanessa Traina, United States
Olivier de la Ferrière, France
Christian Dior
Victoria Traina, United States
Duarte Eca de Queiroz Correira de Campos, Portugal
Christian Lacroix
Marie de Villepin, France
Thomas Pallardy, France
Emanuel Ungaro
All of the debutantes are wearing jewelry provided by Mikimoto.
Julia Restoin-Roitfeld debutante photographs courtesy of lebal.fr and Fashion Spot
Julia Restoin-Roitfeld in Family, Paris, Versace 
Reader Comments (11)
Did you note that was a brazilian débutante? Paola is part of our royal family, she is model and dj too. She is pretty but she isn't compare with Julia. Paola is the seated girl with black dress next to the girl with orange dress. Beijos - liemalgumlugar.blogspot.com
Bonsoir, Sil ! Comment ça va ? I did not note that Brazilian royalty was included in Julia's debutante group, thank you for pointing that out to me. So cool that she models and DJs when not busy being a princess... Beijos
A poor choice for such a ball. but IMHO it's ugly!
LOL, thanks for that cigalechanta! I must say that I have seen Julia wear plenty of other gowns that were much more flattering. What's great about this look is how she completely breaks with tradition for the occasion and for that I applaud her.
IMHO: Julia is looking tartier by the day and obviously does not inherit her mother's style genes. Carine please do something about this!
I didnt know that brazil had royalty
anyway, while I dont think this is her best look, I totally dig her fierce look compared to the other princeses, which are way more boooring
plus, I have to add that I dont like the crillon's balls, theres something so snotty about it that it makes me cringe :P
Heh, Carine's advice to Julia is that when you are young anything goes! Perhaps as Julia's style changes over the years you will perceive her as more refined, DG.
I like how you put this, Luci. It may not be precisely the most flattering cut and color for Julia, but I love how she sets herself apart from the others. It is indeed an elitist tradition.
; )
I don't like it at all but then again, animal print has never been my thing. I'm all about love for the Roitfelds but this is just hideous. In photograph 1, Julia also has the misfortune of looking like Lily Allen...
That aside, I love that a 21 year old decides to kick the old rules in the behind and do things her way. Following the crowd is as dull as can be and despite disliking her chosen ensemble, if Julia had rocked up in a tiara and ball-gown, I would personally marched over there and redressed her! We all know that Maman Roitfeld taught her better than that!!
Oh, Milla, you have such a gift for making me giggle! Now I need to see a photo of Lily Allen...
Okay, I got the picture, M! Right you are, I see the resemblance. Do you think Julia plays the glockenspiel as well?
; )