Billie Eilish is the 18-year-old singer that is dominating the music industry.
She is known for her voice, her talent, and her striking sense of style.
But Billie isn’t like your average pop artist. Apart from her musical abilities, her unique fashion sense separates her from other artists and makes her unforgettable.
From an oversized neon green Gucci shirt and matching shorts, to an oversized rainbow Louis Vuitton set- the artist keeps her wardrobe consistent with comfortable designer pieces.
Photo Credits: Getty Images/ Alberto E. Rodriguez
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However, Billie revealed that she isn’t just dressing this way to look cool. In her recent Calvin Klein #MyCalvins campaign video, Billie got real with why she dresses the way she does. The artist states, “that’s why I wear big, baggy clothes. Nobody can have an opinion because they haven’t seen what’s underneath (Calvin Klein).”
At the time this Calvin Klein ad was released, Billie was only 17 years old. She stated that she felt the need to dress a certain way in order to avoid being sexualized (Gomez).
An underaged teenager. Avoiding the possibility of being sexualized.
This wasn’t the first time she has spoken up about her style. In an interview with NME, a British music journalism website and former magazine, Billie was asked whether she felt like people have a right to comment on her appearance due to the fact that she’s a young woman (Smith). Billie agreed that people critique her in a certain way because she’s a female artist, but also mentions that is she were a “guy wearing these baggy clothes, nobody would bat an eye (Smith).”
Billie has had people tell her to “dress like a girl” and wear tight clothing, as she’d “be much prettier” and her “career would be so much better (Finn).” To that, all Billie had to say was, “No, it literally would not (Finn).”
There have been a few incidences in the past where Billie was called out for what she was wearing, as it wasn’t her typical baggy clothing. In June 2019, Eilish wore a tank top that sparked controversy (Finn).
A tank top. In the summer? Crazy!
Another incident occurred at the time of Billie’s 18th birthday in December 2019, when the artist posted pictures of her tropical Hawaiian vacation on her Instagram account, where some people were quick to point out the singer’s swimsuit.
Fans defended Eilish after a Twitter user objectified the singer for what she was wearing in her recent posts. It seems like Billie can’t catch a break. She typically wears larger clothing to avoid being sexualized yet gets objectified the moment her style varies from that.
It’s not easy being an 18 year-old woman in a society as our own. Unfortunately for Eilish, even with her attempts to avoid this sort of publicity, she found herself the target of internet creeps, anyway.
In an interview with Marie Claire, a popular wide-scoped online magazine, Eilish states that “fame is horrible (Drell).” Although it allows the artist to perform and meet new people, Eilish opened up about the negative side of the public eye, and she says “fame itself is fuckin’ dreadful (Drell).”
Works Cited:
Calvin Klein. “Billie Eilish Speaks Her Truth in #MYCALVINS.” YouTube, upload by Calvin Klein, 10 May 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=20&v=JeMmUglv6wA&feature=emb_title.
Drell, Cady. “Billie Eilish Is Redefining What It Means To Be A Popstar.” Marie Claire, 6 Feb. 2019, https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/a26136870/billie-eilish/.
Finn, Rachel. “Billie Eilish fans are defending her after holiday swimsuit photos.” Pop Buzz, 13 Jan. 2020. https://www.popbuzz.com/music/artists/billie-eilish/swimsuit-hawaii-photos-fans/.
Gomez, Jasmine. “Billie Eilish Said She Wears Baggy Clothes For This Reason.” Seventeen, 14 May. 2019. https://www.seventeen.com/celebrity/music/a27467918/billie-eilish-style/.
Smith, Thomas. “The Big Read – Billie Eilish: the most talked-about teen on the planet.” NME, 10 Mar. 2019, https://www.nme.com/big-reads/big-read-billie-eilish-interview-nme-100-2019-2425970.
@eidirbs. “She literally said she chooses to wear baggy clothes so nobody can say shit about her body. the fact she even has to worry about that is sick.” Twitter, 23 Jun. 2019, 1:10 a.m., https://twitter.com/eidirbs/status/1142676342695030784.
Voice of Women 
Hi Katrin,
I read all your blog posts and I really love this idea of making a blog dedicated to the mistreatment of women in the music industry specifically. There are so many areas in which women are misrepresented through objectification and stereotypes and there are also professions in which women are completely not visible, so I appreciate how you shed a light on the music industry.
The post about Billie Eilish really resonated with me since she knew about the hypersexualization that women face in the industry at such a young age. On top of that, Kesha’s case really brings the point home, that all women in the industry have a built-in fear because of the history of injustices that have occurred with women. At this stage, women have started to gradually make a place for themselves, however I agree with you when you said “It’s time “rapper” also meant “all” because it is imperative at this point to move away from the categorization of women in the music industry, and embrace all of them – in whichever way they look or dress.
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