If you’re going to mark a milestone in truly grand fashion, you channel the queen who did it best: Marie Antoinette. That’s exactly what sisters Margaret and Katherine Kleveland did last night on day one of Paris Fashion Week. Ten years after founding Dôen, the duo treated a coterie of original supporters and muses to a private evening at the Château de Versailles. Consider it timely: Marie Antoinette is having a moment—the V&A’s new “Marie Antoinette Style” exhibition in London is drawing blockbuster crowds.
“It’s amazing that you are all dressed so beautifully,” an enthusiastic guide told a group of Dôen muses in an otherwise empty palace. “It gives a sense of what it was like back then.” Actress Alisha Boe thumbed through the books in Marie Antoinette’s secret library. Like fairies, sisters Audrey and Maggie McGraw floated from room to room, pausing before portraits of the palace’s former mistress. Achok Majak, in swan-white silk, posed at the entrance to the Hall of Mirrors, and Aurora James took in the last golden sweep of sunset from a window overlooking the grounds.
No Versailles fête is complete without a feast. After holding court in the galleries, guests returned to the Airelles Château de Versailles for a seven-course dinner. Footmen in 18th-century frock coats ushered everyone to tables piled with fruit, candles, and antique books. Their ringleader announced each course with the emphatic stomp of a walking stick: coated leeks, candied duck, and a delicate mushroom pastry among the offerings.
The night wasn’t all aristocratic frivolity. The mood turned tender as the sisters stood to thank their loyal friends. “Everyone who has supported us from the very beginning reminds us that we should savor the moment—the ups and downs of building the business—because one day we’ll miss them,” Margaret began. “But to that I say…too soon.” Laughter rippled through the room just as the next salon over cued up “Ray of Light”—a sure sign it was time to return to indulgence.