The third-annual Paris Soirée was a celebration of collaboration, craftsmanship and community sponsored by Jiun Ho Inc., Cambria, Lance Woven Leather, and Sandra Jordan Prima Alpaca. The once-in-a-lifetime event during Paris Déco Off featured 120 leading designers invited to a formal sit-down dinner and surprise fireworks celebration at an undisclosed location. The invitation requested that guests bring a mask and meet for a Champagne reception at the host brands’ pop-up in Saint-Germain, and it did not reveal the Soirée venue—which was later revealed to be the Palace of Versailles. The artistic heritage of the historic venue, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, provided a magical and inspirational backdrop to the special celebration.

Jamie Bush of Jamie Bush + Co., Andrew Kotchen of Workshop/APD, Betty Burgess of Betty Burgess Design, Michael Abrams of Michael Abrams Interior Design, and Heidi Bonesteel and Michele Trout of Bonesteel Trout Hall were just a few of the designers who RSVP’d yes to the mysterious invitation. Shuttles transported the group out of Paris to a private viewing and tour limited exclusively to the 120 invited guests (typically, the Palace receives about 20,000 visitors per day). Following the tour, guests joined a formal dinner in the Palace’s Lower Gallery, located directly below the Hall of Mirrors, where they were greeted by palace guards in period attire and a Baroque musical trio with drum and trumpets in the style of the court of Louis XIV. After dinner, guests were treated to another surprise: a private fireworks display in the famed Gardens of Versailles.

“Our third-annual Soirée in Paris was an evening that celebrated the remarkable talent and creativity in our industry,” said Jiun Ho. “As designers, we work hard every day to create unique and beautiful experiences for our clients. The evening at Versailles was a way for us to pause for a moment to create a unique and wonderful experience for our community, sharing the inspiration of one of the world’s most magical, artistic treasures, the Palace of Versailles. As sponsors, we feel eternally grateful for the support of such an amazing community, and the evening was a way for us to say thank you and to also look forward to dreaming up collaborations for the future. For our community, the sky is indeed the limit!”

Images by Christian Milet and Frédéric Desmesure.