at this year's ball included Camila Mendoza Echavarria, the great-great-granddaughter of President Dwight Eisenhower and golfer Ben Crenshaw's daughter Anna


The Pierre Hotel in New York City was awash with white and wealth on Thursday evening as 46 young women made their debut at the 62nd International Debutante Ball.

This year's group of ladies came from some of the most elite families in the world, and included the great-great-granddaughter of President Dwight Eisenhower representing the United States as well as the daughter of billionaire businessman Jingyuan Yu representing China.

Wendy Yu was one of 10 international debutantes at this year's ball, and the young woman who now resides in London made her mark on the event by donning a custom-designed haute couture gown from Italian designer Giambattista Valli.

The price of haute couture pieces are never made public by the few design houses who still craft them, but Yu's ensemble of cascading chiffon could very well have cost six figures.

Yu then added a little bit of color to her ensemble by carrying a Dolce & Gabbana Cinderella Opera Box Bag, which retailed for $10,000 when it was released but has since sold out.

Belles of the ball: Daughters of society's elite gathered for the 62nd annual Debutante Ball in New York in a myriad of white gowns at the Pierre Hotel in New York City (front row l to r: Cathlyn Jones, deb, Caroline Jones, Brindley Elizabeth Mize; middle row l to r: deb, Anastacia Christina Moss, Elizabeth Anne Carl, deb, Isabelle Terry, deb; back row l to r: Kittsie Anne Klaes, deb, deb)

Grand family connections: Debutante Camila Mendoza Echavarria - the great-great-granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower - with grandmother and Anne Eisenhower and Julia Irene Kauffman, who were the honorary chairmen for the event

Wendy Yu, who is the daughter of a Chinese billionaire, previously attended another debutante ball at Kensington Palace, London in 2015 known as the Queen Charlotte's Ball

The dress is just one of the costs for the young women, who in addition to their white gown and white gloves also pay to be perfectly coiffed and painted for the big evening.

Jewelry is a big part of the night as well, and many of the women finished off their looks with pricey baubles both borrowed and bought for the stylish affair, which kicked off with a photo shoot featuring the girls at 6:15pm and ran until 2am Friday.

There is also a $22,000 entry fee that the ladies must pay to be a part of the event, which is a benefit each year for a number of charities, including the Soldiers’, Sailors’, Marines’, Coast Guard and Airmen’s Club of New York City.

These expenses, combined with the costs of travel, accommodations and tickets for friends and family make the evening a costly one, but also a memorable one judging by the excitement many of the debutantes shared in images they posted on social media after the event.

One thing the ladies do not have to worry about paying for though are their male escorts for the evening, who in the past were provided by West Point but now must be obtained by the families of the young women, though the Ball's directors are happy to help with that task.

Among the notable names making an appearance at the Pierre on Thursday evening was Camila Mendoza Echavarria, the aforementioned descendant of President Eisenhower.

It was an extra special evening for the 18-year-old freshman at Sarah Lawrence as her grandmother Anne Eisenhower was one of the honorary chairmen of the event.

Both Echavarria's mother and grandmother, as well as a handful of other female relatives, made their debut at the International Debutante Ball in the past.

For her big night, Echavarria selected a Carrara gown designed by Project Runway alum Austin Scarlett.

The look, which Scarlett designed for the fashion house's Spring 2016 bridal line, featured a flat front with origami bow décolletage and a full gathered back of white slipper satin.

The gowns from that collection, which are sold at the exclusive New York bridal shop Kleinfeld, can cost upwards of $40,000.

Crème de la crème: Debutantes Natalie Counce and Caroline Jean (left) and Wendy Yu (right) attend the 62nd International Debutante Ball at The Pierre Hotel

Networking: Wess Mediros (left), Debutante Elizabeth Anne Carl (center) and Grant Chucksol all smile for the cameras at the annual event. There, they meet and greet with future husbands, friends, colleagues and business and charity contacts

Brindley Elizabeth Mize, who was one of the 14 young woman who made the trip from Texas for this year's ball, also turned heads in her look for the evening, which was crafted at the atelier of Oscar de la Renta, whose brand lives on despite his tragic death two years ago.

The 19-year-old a sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin selected a strapless silk radzimir gown which featured an overlay of embroidered tulle and a corseting of floral lace that was hand-cut into individual floral and leaf motifs by the design team at the classic American fashion house.

In addition to that, silk cording was sewn to the base of the gown to give the appearance of vines between flowers and leaves while pearls were individually sewn to the center of the flowers to add shine and depth to the look.

The gown was shown as part of the Spring 2016 Oscar de la Renta bridal collection.

Looks from the collection retail for around $20,000, though exact prices are only given by request after contacting a specialist from the fashion house.

International and very glamorous attendees: It is customary for the young women to ask a gentleman to join them for the prestigious society event (l to r: Sara Demetree, Cynthia Jones, Diana Castellano, Connor Castallano)

Posing: Helen Anne Gable (left) Sophie Tang (right) attend the 62th International Debutante Ball. The United States is by far the most represented country every year but about a quarter of the debutantes come from across the globe

Elizabeth Anne Carl, another young lady who trekked from Texas to New York City for this year's event, also went with a classic American designer for her look, choosing a Vera Wang gown from the designer's Octavia couture collection.

And wanting a true New York experience, the Texas A&M student even bought the dress in the city, picking up her $5,000 dress during a shopping trip at Saks Fifth Avenue.

The young woman was a standout in the ivory strapless sweetheart creation, which featured a hand-gathered tulle bodice and ruched tulle technique overlay.

In the end however, it was Jacqueline Jiang of China who had the night's most impressive gown as she designed the look herself.

The custom couture creation was a western look that featured Chinese design elements throughout, and offered the only pop of color that was seen on any of the women that evening with a stunning embroidered blue flower running up the bodice of the dress.

After greeting their guests every one of the debutantes is required to pose for press photos including a spectacular group shot as seen here

Wendy Yu's impressive tulle dress saw her as the star of the show at the annual event, she paired her dress with a dazzling sapphire necklace

Wendy's fairy tale haute couture gown was especially and personally designed by Giambattista Valli for the debutante

The tradition of debuting young and privileged women decked out in billowing white gowns and elbow-length satin gloves stretches back far beyond the first New York City ball in 1954, but the Big Apple's ball is the quintessential state-side cotillion.

The United States is by far the most represented country every year but this year just under a quarter of the debutantes come from across the globe, with England, France, Scotland, China, and Canada represented by young women at the event.

Cameron DeVere and India Gray Nix, the daughters of Count and Countess Ulrik Christian Trampe of London, England (and Greenwich, Connecticut) represented England at the event.

The sisters are direct descendants of British kings William the Conqueror and John I as well as America's first president, George Washington.

Lady Louisa Murray, the daughter of Earl and Countess of Mansfield, represented Scotland, where she lives in the historic Scone Palace in Perth.

It is tradition for all of the debutantes to wear white to the ball, however they can customize their gowns as they wish with one young lady even adding tartan to her dress. The European debutantes are pictured above (front row l to r: India Nix, Sarah Panek; back row l to r: Cameron Nix, Louisa Murray, Alix de Chabot, Jumana Nusseibeh)

The young ladies are the daughters of the world's elite families, and at stake are their first impressions on a world accustomed to only the greatest of poise: these are the living dolls of the International Debutante Ball

The American debutantes meanwhile came from 13 different states.

Connor Alexandra and Diana Ashley Castellano, the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Castellano and twin nieces of Count and Countess Oleg Cassini represented Florida.

Elisabeth Crisler Quick, daughter of Peter Quick, the former president of the American Stock Exchange and the mayor of Mill Neck, New York represented the Empire State.

Caroline Chambers Jones, daughter Stephen Jones of Dallas, the CEO and Executive Vice President of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys was one of the many Texas ladies in attendance.

AnnaRiley Crenshaw, daughter of golfing great and former Ryder Cup captain Ben Crenshaw was also on hand representing Texas.

The escorts at the event included some young men with famous lineages as well, among them jazz singer Cole Rumbough, the grandson of Dina Merrill whose mother Marjorie Merriweather Post built Mar-a-Lago.

And while the price may have been high, the demand was even higher, with the event selling out.

It was also not the first debutante ball for a number of the European ladies, who had previously attended the Queen Charlotte's Ball at Kensignton Palace.

Yu, 26, was one of the young ladies on hand for that ball in 2015, and posted a photo at the time of her jewelry for the event which consisted of hundreds of thousands worth of Bulgari baubles from their high jewelry line, including the brands signature Serpenti bracelet and ring along with earrings and a necklace from the Divas Dream collection.

She topped it off with a diamond crown.

The heiress could be seen carrying a $10,000 Dolce & Gabbana Opera clutch as she paraded about the hotel

As well as the young society women, former debutantes and family members also attend.(l to r: Brittany LaPointe, Julia Irene Kauffman and Lauren LaPointe)

All of the young ladies carry a posy of pink roses and wear elbow length white gloves to the ball (l to r: Sophie Tang, Wendy Yu and Jacqueline Jiang)

Susan Beer and Henry Bismuth attended the event in support of the young women making their debut

All eyes are on Wendy Yu as she is accompanied by her escort Ji Liu while entering the ballroom