Ksenia Solovieva I am editor in chief of Tatler Russia, and this debutante ball is Tatler Russia’s major event. We hold it in the Palace of Unions, built in 1755 as a private residence. In the nineteenth century, many balls were held here and mentioned in novels and in Pushkin’s poems. Many of the best Russian families lived outside of Moscow then, but to introduce their daughters to high society—and to find them the right husbands—they came to Moscow for the social season. After the revolution, the Palace of Unions was confiscated and belonged to the state, and for seventy years there was no proper ball in Russia. The countrywas completely destroyed in this regard. Balls were forgotten. We are trying to restore this tradition but in a very contemporaryway. Of course, it’s the twenty-first century now, and I’m not marrying the girls off. Our goal is to let them live for one day in a fairytale, to have an adventure wearing couture gowns, and having hair and makeup done, and having the diamonds and the body- guard and the Maserati limo that chauffeurs them from the Ritz. All the big fashion couture houses workwith us. Chanel sponsors the event in terms of the fine jewels and makeup. They’ve been with us for four years, probably because we have great media coverage. We have many different designers for the girls’ dresses: Dior and Valentino and Giorgio Armani. For them, it’s a chance to be represented in Russia and also to find new clientele.
How do we choose the debutantes? The question is difficult to answer. It’s a cocktail of different ingredients, and money is not the major one, as you would probably think. The first ingredient is the family, the dynasty. Unfortunately, there is no pure aristocracy in Russia anymore, because many of them left and live in France or England. So we are talking not about aristocracy, but about big families. These are girls with, let’s say, blue blood or with a silver spoon in the mouth. The ball is very exclusive. It’s always a mix of money and business and media and sports- men. For the first time, we have Julius Baer, the very important private bank from Switzerland, sponsoring the ball. For them the Tatler ball is the shortest link to potential clients and a crucial opportunity. They can sit and chat with the parents of the debutantes. I mean, for the parents, their main capital is their daughters, their children, of course. But they also have some money, which theywould probably like to be served in the Swiss bank. For the girls, being in the ball is a way to try what it feels like to be spotted, to be in the public eye. If the girls want to launch their own careers, probably there is no better chance. But they are also just normal girls, contemporary girls. Tomorrow theywill put on their modern jackets and boots, and theywill go out to a nightclub, but today it’s their adventure. It’s their day.
← Elizabeth, 15, one of twelve girls to be presented at Tatler ’s Debutante Ball, before the ball at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Moscow, 2012. The girls were chosen for the pedigree of their parents, all members of Russia’s commercial, artistic, and political elite.
← Debutantes with partners from the Bolshoi Ballet at the Tatler ball, held at the Palace of Unions, Moscow, 2014. During the nineteenth century, the aristocracy held balls in the same hall. Today’s ball is an exercise in brand promotion, with sponsorships fromChanel andMaserati.
→ Bodyguards assigned to protect debutantes while they are wearing Chanel jewelry at the Tatler ball, Moscow, 2014.
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