Tuesday, 27th November 2007 at 11:21 am

New Celebutantes are born at Billionaires’ Ball

Socialite snobs aren’t born.

They are carefully constructed out of delicate bird bones, origami and couture gowns. Loads of hairspray and the occasional rhinoplasty (to shave some nasty hereditary width from a nose bridge - an awful reminder that old money and blue blood don’t necessarily equate good looks - and to surgically turn up the nose so that the bearer of the nose doesn’t have to lift her chin to do so). Where surgery can’t help, expensive make-up takes over to cover up the remaining flaws.
And then, when they’ve reached an appropriate age (and when the swelling has gone down from the surgery), 23 of them are handpicked (based on bloodline, trust fund size, weight… or, more specifically, lack thereof) to debut into high-society at the annual Crillon Ball (aka the Billionaires’ Ball or the Bal de Débutantes) in Paree.

It was that time of year again on Saturday night. Notable names among this year’s débutantes, who stepped out shimmering in Chanel, Dior, Lacroix and Dolce & Gabbana included Tansy Aspinall, the granddaughter of John Aspinall, the conservationist and gambling entrepreneur; Kathleen Kennedy, the granddaughter of Bobby Kennedy; Lily Collins, the daughter of the rock star Phil Collins; Gemima McMahon, the stepdaughter of the footballer Pele; Countess Sofia de Pahlen, the Italian granddaughter of the late Fiat patriarch Gianni Agnelli; Julie Boeri, whose father, Michel, is a member of Monaco’s crown council; Eppie and India Windsor-Clive, descendants of Clive of India; and Tatiana Mountbatten, a descendant of Lord Mountbatten and the daughter of the Marquess of Milford Haven, the Queen’s cousin. According to The Telegraph, the “undisputed star of the show was Hannah Olivennes, the 18-year-old daughter of the Francophile actress Kristin Scott Thomas and her estranged husband, the gynæcologist Dr François Olivennes.

Alumni debs include Lauren Bush (niece of Dubuya) and Xenia Gorbacheva, the granddaughter of the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

For the past 16 years, the event has been organised by French PR guru Ophelia Renouard. Mademoiselle Renouard doesn’t beat around the bush when she talks about the selection criteria. In order to secure a sought after invitation, girls must have “No fat, because the gowns are very small” and “no pushy parents” who try to beg and bribe the strict Renouard for an invitation for their darling daughter.

Ah, c’est la vie of the rich and famous…

Additional reading: Belles of the Billionaires’ Ball - Telegraph.