Billie Eilish Stays True to Her Own Self by Alique in ELLE US October 2021

Pop star Billie Eilish covers the October 2021 issue of ELLE US Magazine. Patti Wilson styles Billie in Balenciaga, Erdem, Gucci, Peter Do, Marc Jacobs and more in images by Alique [IG]. / Hair by Benjamin Mohapi; makeup by Robert Rumsey

Molly Lambert interviews Eilish in ‘Billie Eilish Is Calling the Shots’. She opens:

With her latest album debuting at number one, Billie Eilish opens up about making music, directing her own videos, and not giving a $%! what anyone has to say about her hair, clothes, or sexuality

Eilish is fresh off her recent fashion drama as the youngest cohost ever of the Met Gala. Appearing in a Grace Kelly-worthy Oscar de la Renta ball gown, Billie extracted a promise of no more fur from the luxury designer label before appearing in a frothy pink extravaganza before the imposing hall of photographers and flash bulbs at New York’s Metropolitan Museum.

Next week Billie’s new Nike Air Jordan collab drops with two vegan styles; and her sophomore album ‘Happier Than Ever’ debuted at number one in America and in 18 other countries. ’Happier Than Ever’ also enjoyed the highest vinyl sales upon release in the last 30 years.

Eilish is seriously stepping into her own self-defined space, outspoken that she will not be defined by her fanbase. Her recent morphing into an exploration of her own sensual self-expression has not gone down well among all members of her tribe. Appearing in Madonna-like corsetry looks for British Vogue cost her about 100,000 social media cancellations in a few hours. And of course, there is also the subject of Billie Eilish’s blonde locks.

There’s no better voice than Madonna’s to weigh in on Eilish’s experience with fan backlash. The virgin/whore dichotomy is alive today with the same intensity as that faced by Madonna and Marilyn Monroe before her.

Madonna continues as our minister of female sexuality in America, telling ELLE:

“The problem is, we still live in a very sexist world where women are put into categories,” says Madonna, who knows whereof she speaks. “You’re either in the virgin category or the whore category. Billie started off in a non-sexualized category, not pandering to the masses and not using her sexuality in any way, which is her choice and God bless her for that—after all, she’s been a teenager all this time. [But] if she wants to turn around and take photographs where she is portrayed as a feminine woman, showing her body in a way that she hasn’t in the past, then why should she be punished for it? Women should be able to portray themselves in any way they want. If Billie were a man, no one would be writing about this. A man can show up dressed in a suit and tie for the first three years of his career, and then the next month he could be dressed like Prince or Mick Jagger, shirt off, wearing eyeliner, and no one would say a word.”