By now, it’s pretty obvious Billie Eilish is not your “mainstream” teenage artist. She is a lyrical visionary, has shocked the world with her mysterious music videos and is incredibly true to herself — a quality transposed in all of her works. Billie’s personal authenticity goes farther than just her artistry — it is at the core of her fashion, as well.
Photo by @billieeilish on instagram
Why the baggy clothing, the track suits, the oversized Louis Vuitton, the funky sense of style? The singer has trademarked these pieces to identify her style, unseen wearing anything less. So why?
Eilish starred in a fashion campaign for designer brand Calvin Klein, “I Speak The Truth In #MyCalvins.” The initiative was meant to showcase celebrity style, with each celebrity giving a personal sentiment describing their fashion. Eilish used this campaign as a platform to speak out about her unique sense of style, which showed to have a deeper meaning than just enjoying the physical comfort of loose clothing. All other celebrities were shown in the typical lingerie and minimal sleepwear; however Billie Eilish did not compromise.
Through the campaign and her own personal advertising segment, it was revealed that Eilish wears baggy clothing to avoid being sexualized and judged by a hyper-focused world audience.
Nobody can have an opinion because they haven’t seen what’s underneath,” says Eilish. “Nobody can be like, ‘she’s slim-thick,’ ‘she’s not slim-thick,’ ‘she’s got a flat a**,’ ‘she’s got a fat a**.’ No one can say any of that because they don’t know.
Photo by @billieeilish on instagram
Eilish preserves her own self perception by not giving the world the opportunity to distort it. Not to be misrepresentative, Eilish does also dress this wear because she loves “[being] outside of my comfort zone,” she tells Seventeen Magazine. She continues to say that she is well aware that in a room of casually dressed people, she’d standout and that’s her ultimate goal.
She has referenced her style in the past before, as well. She told NME, “I’ve spoken a lot to female artists about this, because if you’re not a female artist you probably don’t think about this. If I was a guy and I was wearing these baggy clothes, nobody would bat an eye. There’s people out there saying, ‘Dress like a girl for once! Wear tight clothes you’d be much prettier and your career would be so much better!’ No it wouldn’t. It literally would not.”
Eilish addresses the double standard regarding physical appearance in not only the industry, but day-to-day life. The constant scrutiny she has experienced due to her decision not to wear tighter, shorter or more provocative clothing has linked some to believe that her career is not as successful as it could be. Eilish obviously objects.
Photo posted by @billieeilish on instagram
The global pop singer stands firm in questions and objections to her style. She embraces her uniqueness, not willing to conform to the babble of some internet trolls — wanting to retain her untainted sense of self. Eilish bravely challenges a society and an industry guilty of sexualizing women by doing what she does best, being herself.
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