Billie Eilish's Met Gala Corseted Gown Was A Total Transformation
This shift was not subtle.
Billie Eilish — pop singer, award winner, record-breaker, and habitual wearer of T-shirts and platform boots — has stolen my heart with her 2022 Met Gala look. Gone is her blonde hair and Oscar de la Renta fairy-tale-inspired gown from the 2021 event. Also missing: the layers and layers of fabric Eilish flaunted on the red carpets for this year’s Grammy Awards and the Oscars. Instead, Eilish served us gilded age glamour with a twist. According to the singer-songwriter, her ultra-fitted, curve-hugging Gucci gown was made of entirely recycled materials. Peek that corsetry and tell me this isn’t a sustainability flex for the history books.
Eilish’s look spoke clearly to the gilded age theme with a Victorian silhouette and very clear visual references and design cues from the corset to the bustle to the vintage vibes offered up by her lacy sleeves and the faded, near sepia-toned color palette.
The whole look is fully fabulous, but on top of the spectacular look and the fact that it’s sustainable, it also suggests a new era for the “Happier Than Ever” singer. We’ve seen Eilish on a lot of red carpets this year, and her 2022 Met Gala ‘fit is a major departure from the aesthetic the “Happier Than Ever” singer has been building thus far.
Preceding the Met Gala, Eilish’s red carpet moments in 2022 were decidedly dark. The vibe was goth with touches of androgyny. At both the Grammys and the Oscars, Eilish wore black gowns with statement-making swathes of fabric — a cape with a train at the Grammys and a gown with a long train at the Oscars. Both styles were interesting and were saying *something* about fashion, but there were no objectively feminine silhouettes or traditional ideas about beauty playing out on Eilish’s body.
It’s not surprising, given what the 20-year-old has shared about her struggles with self-image and existing in a world that expects specific and unfair things from people who look like a stereotypical woman. It wasn’t surprising when Eilish wore a puffer jacket the size of a twin mattress to kick off her record-breaking Coachella performance. Say what you want, but the girl has an aesthetic that she more or less sticks to, which makes her 2022 Meta Gala look feel like an exciting rush of floral, spring air.
It’s not just the soft, pastel color palette or the shedding of layers that makes this look so light. It’s the fact that Eilish was all smiles on the carpet, telling red carpet co-host La La Anthony that she’s feeling creative and excited about touring (later this year) and seeing her friends (at the Gala).
