I've been teaching middle and high school English for ten years, and have watched media figures rise and fall in the consciousness of the boys and girls I encounter and interact with on a daily basis. In many ways, the young adults I teach are no different than I was when I was their age: they seek authenticity, sincerity and honesty (and really, don't we all?). Eilish resonates with many of them, and has long before the media (and adults) caught up, and this can only be refreshing and good. I'm also a father of a five-year old daughter, and when she's old enough, I hope she has someone in the culture who validates her feelings and who is as gifted for a role model. Of course, my wife and I hope to be an influence too, but...thank goodness (literally!) that she's out there. The kids are alright. Clearly.
115
@Jason Slatton
Bravo! I teach across grades 3-8 and have seen an uptick
in the way both boys and girls are dressing. They have a tendency to dress for comfort and their own style.
If it means wearing multi-colour hair and shoes that are
comfortable with clothes you like, then why not.
42
Fiona did it first- all due respect to Eilish.
I am 60 years older than Billie. I am sure that she is an important voice, as, say, Bob Dylan was for my generation. But it is difficult for me to relate to the ecology which generates her and her fans. This article makes me feel old, and I never ever feel old.
4
If a woman is a music star, she IS GOING to influence the ideologies and fashion choices of other women and girls, that's how it works.
Billie's message --that it's ok to be outlandish and weird and wear comfortable baggy clothes -- is a step in the right direction against the hyper-sexualization of women.
Yes, teenage girls may be just copying the vibe, but the expansion of the concept of what it means to be a woman is the longer-lasting and farther-reaching goal here.
10
How soon we’ve forgotten about Lorde, the Billie of 2015.
14
Authenticity by imitation? How's that work?
Kids trailing along behind the latest Pop-up Celebrity is nothing new (remember Lorde?) and is forgivable, they're ten or twelve. Infinitely more childish are adults blindly following party or President, and mistaking Fox for serious journalism. Don't get me started on people waving their hands in the air imploring their God to make them rich.
Most people never grow up, they just swap one delusional belief for another.
10
Authenticity by imitation? How's that work?
Kids trailing along behind the latest Pop-up Celebrity is nothing new (remember Lorde?) and is forgivable, they're ten or twelve. Infinitely more childish are adults blindly following party or President, and mistaking Fox for serious journalism. Don't get me started on people waving their hands in the air imploring their God to make them rich.
Most people never grow up, they just swap one delusional belief for another.
1
I like Bille E. She’s one of the most interesting artists out there.
But I’m not surprised when I read, “Some fans may chafe to discover that she has worked since she was 14 with Samantha Burkhart, a high-powered stylist.” She comes from a Hollywood family and has probably been around branding all her life.
10
Billie Eillish and her brother are hugely talented musicians and it really adds to their appeal that they are essentially giving the finger to the older generations and shouting "ok, boomer" at them. Love it!!
2
Nothing new. Johnny Rotten, Wendy O Williams, Cyndi Lauper, Robert Smith, Richard Hell, Patti Smith, Shonen Knife. Janis Joplin wore a lot of trinkets. Cyndi Lauper had pink hair.
16
The words sound good, and most of the pics look creative. But what's up with the Grammy pajammies with the logo of that company that sells plastic bags for hundreds of dollars? Now if they were counterfeit, forcing the broadcasters to pixelate, that would be amusing. But otherwise, not so much.
13
Even though her hair and nails are loud, when I see Billie Eilish in those oversize clothes, I can’t help but think of someone who has endured abuse and wants to hide her body. I hope any of her young fans who do have trauma or abuse in their lives can talk to a trusted adult rather than cocoon themselves.
7
Having never seen teens with pouting lips and expressions, and various cheap hair dye colors, over the decades - well, by gosh, it's SO now ! And the four four on the Bass drum and Cardboard snare is "New" & "original" ... Ha !
12
A paean to vapid superficiality and commodity fetishism. What a misogynistic insult to women. What else to expect from the high church of anti-women loathing-- the 'fashion industry' and its breathless shills.
8
According to the woke crowd, "being yourself" is only valid if you dress exactly like your hobo idol and all her followers.
If you want to look girly or feminine, you're somehow not as genuine. Not "being yourself." Presumably because you're "conforming to gender norms."
Oy.
28
When you are 18 no matter what you do to your hair, what clothes you wear, how poorly you slept, how badly you ate, none of it will make you ugly.
Put your 50-year-old age photograph, perfectly groomed, nicely tailored next to your 18-year-old age one with green hair, sticking your tongue out with a nose ring, and tell me which person you find most attractive.
10
Her music is interesting. Her look is ugly. Whatever happened to beauty. It need not be sexy or princess like. What she wore to the Grammy awards was ghastly. But it certainly got what she wanted attention for more than her music. Pathetic.
10
@hazel18 My guess is that she couldn't care less what any of us think of her look. That's the joy of it.
13
@it wasn't me
I think she cares very much. Her look is very curated, very intentional. It's all self-marketing. She's promoting an image of indifference. You don't bother to dye your hair, unless you want to present an image.
3
Just woke up at 4 pm in parents basement ,hasn't showered in a week ,put on mothers thrift store clothes from the 1960's and recorded something that sounds like going back to sleep.
11
To each his own. Everyone should dress the way they feel comfortable, and not feel like they have to conform to stereotypes that don't represent how they feel. What's refreshing about Eilish is she's doing this in the Pop world, which usually presents young women as overtly sexualized. On the other hand, there are young kids of both sexes who don't want to dress in baggy, shapeless clothes, and they should feel they can do their thing too without being negatively targeted.
11
Billie Eilish reminds me of the early Lady Gaga days. The props, the horrible clothes (if you can call hanging beef clothes), shoes that required her to move like a snail or perish. The need for attention soured me on Gaga's music, and she has a beautiful voice. Billie may have a beautiful voice, I'll find out when she stops whispering. Talent? I think so, but l'm no expert. l just want to hear a great song, well sung. The clothes and the affectations put me off. They seem so desperate.
33
She's got all kinds of fans because she's talented, interesting and thoughtful. I have to admit to being intrigued and I'm 65. She's got some hippy in her, that's for sure!
I'm gonna stay tuned.
15
@Lou Good My 14 year old daughter is a fan (from 2 years ago!). We have tickets to her show in April. The appeal is in her lyrics and expression; when you have days when you feel down, you want to know that someone in the world has felt the same way and understands you...the same reasons that have driven her parents musical tastes for over 30 years. Our young daughter has also introduced us to Ed Sheeran and Post Malone, whose concerts we've also attended together. We are in our 50s and 60s. Thanks to our daughter we are now super fans to all of the above!
3
No wonder American fashion is so popular it has to be changed every six months.
2
Billie is the anti-Victoria Secret model ethos, and I am loving it.
39
@Ames A push up bra is not a fashion statement .Originally referred to as a "training bra" which protected the tissue and muscle from sagging ,parents and adolescent women neglected the use of forming bras early in development and soon discovered the effects .
3
@Alan Einstoss Mansplaining pushup and training bras. Does it get any better?
23
Fashion statement? She literally looks like most every young woman I have met in Seattle since I moved here in the 80's. Its "Early-American Goodwill meets home haircolor job". Its all the rage.
I think she is a wonderful young person and I'm happy for her and her brother. I have tried to get through a song of hers but I feel like I'm at a Kurt Cobain concert cigarette burns and all.
11
@Clark: How is being covered in sack-shaped clothing reminiscent of a rehashed 1990s urban prison aesthetic “body positivity”? Making a blob out of oneself is perhaps more akin to “body neutrality.” I can think of other terms for it as well.
8
Ah, youth. To each his/her own.
4
An industry-plant wearing a carefully crafted persona to drive the masses to consume.
14
"Be yourself" by dressing and acting like a wealthy and awarded star.
9
I like a lot about Billie Eilish and her extremely talented brother.
But much in this article is outright depressing.
"Why not respond to news that the planet is warming to uninhabitable levels by matching your hair to your parka to your nails to your sunglasses to your shoes and socks,” Ms. Petrusich wrote, not altogether facetiously.
Jessica Cropp, an 18-year-old high school student in Verona, N.D., ... now peacocks on her Instagram feed in blue hair, shrill hues and many-layered silver chains ... "Now when I walk into school in the morning, it’s like everyone is going to look at me, and I’m going to love it. It’s like, I want those eyes on me.”
This article seems to mistake Self-Esteem for Narcissism.
Those with a healthy self-esteem believe they are worthy and competent, and strive for intimate, meaningful connections with others, but do not necessarily see themselves as superior to others. In contrast, narcissists think they are superior to others, but they don't necessarily view themselves as worthy. Indeed, because they often lack an inner stable sense of self-security, the narcissists' sense of self-esteem is often almost entirely dependent on the validation of others (social media). Could it be that people are confusing the two? This article seems to.
The age of Trump?
It is great a Pop star is showing girls they don't have to dress like a stripper to be popular. But the narcissism captured in this article. Sad emoji.
12
Doesn't every generation succumb in some way to fashion when they are young? Isn't trying to be different while fitting in part of growing up? What's up with all the fogies that just forget what it's like to be young? This young lady, woman, whatever she'd prefer, is doing great things in her manner and style and divorce from the sexy dress of so many of her peers and I love it. She sings about insecurity and mental health to a generation finally able and willing to confront such issues. And they love her, good for her, good for her fans, good for all of us. Fashion aside, this generation will lead us into equality such as we have never known among races, sexes, all of it. Whatever can happen to help that along works for me. And, even in my mid 60s, I liked her songs on the grammys and I say Mazel Tov Billie, you done good!
8
The world needs more of these role models. Eillish is the voice of Generation Z. In her own way, she is saying "Ok, Boomer"! I love it. I also think she is very genuinely talented, along with her brother. Amazing lyrics and genre-bending tunes and sound.
1
This isn't about "fashion", it's just the latest "packaging" job, successfully performed by the professionals whose job it is to tell you what you will like. Nothing more.
17
Loose clothing is indeed a relief and a throwback to the eighties. I don't understand the impractical nails, unless one wants to extend into a witchy persona perhaps. After the Grammys I acquainted myself with the work of Billie Eilish by watching a video she directed in which she and her older brother, Finneas, drive a car into the ocean where the car floats underwater and they sit expressionless in the front seats. The image stayed with me for a disturbingly long 24 hours. I understand her themes, as her brother said at the Grammys, are suicide, depression and climate change. Finneas appears to be the producer. The collaboration of brother and sister reminded me, in its understated incestuous vibe, of Karen and Richard Carpenter. In its brilliance the work of this duo also reminded me of Munch "The Scream".
5
The fashion is not beautiful or special, but one should concentrate on the artist to find a new direction in song writing.
My sons love Billie Eilish, and I like the fact that her vibe is not overt sexuality.
I would like to know one thing, though: who in the Eilish home decided a 10-year-old girl needed a professional fashion stylist? Has she been marketed to the masses since that age?
9
@Ginger M. No, Ginger. I met Billie at 13 with her parents and she was doing her own thing then, as she is doing it now. She knows what she wants creatively; always has.
3
@Ginger M. She's no overtly sexy, but is overtly depressed and sullen. That's better?
4
She comes from a Hollywood family. Her mom’s an actress and her dad works in entertainment. She’s been raised around the biz, and had access to stylist etc. (ala Taylor Swift).
4
Sometimes I too like to look sleepy.
2
OK Gen Z
Make-believe you are inventing this stuff instead of being carefully groomed by marketers and 'influencers'.
20
Someone in the fashion industry is already making a killing on this, and much more money is coming their way.
"Billie Eilish: Gen Z’s Outrageous Fashion Role Model: The Grammy-winning artist is showing young people a path to being themselves", sounds like a mass-marketing tagline, because it is a mass-marketing tagline.
20
Until it comes time to get a job and get serious about life.
This is all well and good for kids, but...
5
@Randy L. Not necessarily, the world is changing. Many employers these days don't much care how their employees dress, and many people also work from home where there is no expectation at all about how they need to dress. I welcome the changes.
9
I find Billie to be so refreshing. She’s able to let her talents shine without having to sexualize herself or having plastic surgery. A much better role model than all the Kardashians put together. Bravo!
16
I totally agree. It’s shocking to me today after all these years of women’s rights and fighting for equality, the trending hashtag on IG couple years ago were selfies with the hashtag #underboob!
4
Thank you Ruth La Ferla for interviewing teens around the world! Very cool.
2
‘“Her look is not about vanity,” said Lucie Greene, a trend forecaster and brand strategist. “She is flipping the idea of beauty to something surreal, something influenced by gaming and the cyberculture.”’
Then this:
‘Some fans may chafe to discover that she has worked since she was 14 with Samantha Burkhart, a high-powered stylist whose clients include Katy Perry, Christina Aguilera and Mark Ronson. Her outfits are excessive, Ms. Burkhart said.
“She enjoys the uncomfortableness of not fitting in,” she said. “That appeals to a generation that grew up sick of manufactured pop music produced in a way that follows algorithms.”’
Another commercialized cultural con-job that’s going to make plenty of people rich. A recycled hybrid aesthetic masquerading as a novel rejection of overly sexualized manufactured pop stars, yet sporting grotesque five-inch painted fingernails and accessories only the wealthy can afford.
Hard to take seriously as NYT content. Have you partnered with Teen Vogue?
15
@Jay whoa Jay, have you heard her music? Do you have any kids? It's always the same thing every generation but I suspect, by your hubris, that you never feel prey to any generational pressures. She entertains girls who need some positive influence besides the half naked model singers they see. If this was so hard and difficult for you to read and take seriously why did you bother?
7
ARCHETYPAL PROFILE
The Artemis archetype. Governing animals and the moon. Anti-culture to the hilt. Wild. Militant unattractiveness. Don’t mess with me. Or ELSE.
A touch of Dionysus too in the flamboyance of all this transgressive display.
Perhaps Persephone too, in her cycling between innocence (as maiden) and gloom (as queen).
No Aphrodite. But Ariana is not Aphrodite either. Pop triviality is something else. Perhaps an archetype the Greeks did not even recognize. This culture does not value Aphrodite.
No Hera. Not the alpha bimbo on the prowl for alpha wifehood.
Nor Zeus. The alpha on the prowl of alpha bimbohood.
No Apollo. Nothing high-minded or philosophical or cultural. What Trumpists would call “elitist.”
No Hermes. No trickster playfulness. And such EARNEST self-disregard.
No Athena. No goddess of practical wisdom here.
Perhaps some Hephaestus. All those wounds from being the outcast blacksmithing away in the soot. Yes, definitely some Hephaestus.
Ares? Maybe a bit of the warrior. But most of this comes through Artemis.
Poseidon. All that oceanic tempest flooding everything away? Maybe.
Hestia of the hearth. Nah.
Demeter and earth mother agriculture. Yup. A bit.
Time for Billie to team up with Greta.
2
This kid is 18 years old and the NY Times is making her out to be a guru. Two years from now she will be embarrassed by her 18 year-old self and the two years after that she'll despise her 20 year-old self.
Someday she'll grow up. Will the fashion reporters?
7
I think she is hiding something! Wait and see!
Eilish is a breath of fresh air in a time of sustained suffocation. What a joy to see this incandescent talent give girls and women an alternative to push up bras and sheathed backsides. In addition, you have got to love the colorful talons. She's pretty adorable but watch out, she has serious claws!
3
Hey, it's not just young girls who admire her style. Some women in their 50s are fans too. So happy to see a female pop star who isn't required to allow her body to be objectified in order to be successful.
64
@Expat What's sad is that people continue to do their best to objectify her, despite the fact she clearly is (understandably) uncomfortable with it
3
My husband and I first saw her on SNL last year and we were both blown away by her music and performance. I loved that her clothing was completely opposite of Cardi B and Ariana Grande, etc.
BTW, we're both in our early 50's.
32
I spent Christmas at a family friend in Rome, who's 14 year old niece who spoke about 10 words of English had an outfit that was very obviously inspired by Eilish. It's awesome to see an American pop star exporting an image of body positivity and for girls to embrace their weirdness rather than sexualizing middle schoolers like we usually do. And it's even cooler to see it embraced in a country like Italy, which isn't exactly known for accepting alternate visions of femininity.
13
There's more going on here than just style. She also has a refreshingly anti-drug message buried in her work, "I don't need a xanny to feel better." As a father of a teenage daughter, I have to say we could do a lot worse for a role model than a talented songwriter who wears baggy clothes and eschews drugs.
I really do think Billie and her brother Finneas were not expecting to blow up as quickly and widely as they did. That was apparent enough from their authentic Grammy speeches. And that is part of the appeal here, the authenticity. No autotune, no makeup, no plastic. There is a truth in this music and a willingness to bare demons instead of flesh. It is brave and forward, which in and of itself is a refreshing achievement.
We'll see what happens going forward, but to this point I think it has been done without artifice and in a way that inspires these young kids who are fully aware they are growing up in a world of rising temperatures and one-way mirrors.
26
She is a great singer. She is very young, I would say just a child.
But clearly she chose to do a one up on the Fashion Designer from Dapper Dan or went Straight Gucci. Apparently Dapper Dan and Gucci have something of a treaty that allows Dapper Dan to take the logos/icons patterns and cloth/fabric from Gucci.
So, to me, she was making a statement that she agrees with the rappers who don Dapper Don's custom made clothes.
I long for when she breaks from her teens. There's probably a very beautiful person hiding in her clothes who will come out fully.
I saw a news brief yesterday about a family who are financially struggling. The young man narrating the piece talked with pride of his mother who was single and supporting all of her children as a cosmetologist. I watched her patiently cutting the hair of a young guy who was requesting changes in how she styled his hair. I found her maturity and selfless devotion to her children as supremely beautiful. By the way, she was dressed in simple, everyday clothes.
8
Was so happy to see that duck-face is a thing of the past with this new look du jour.
9
Fickle fame, eh? So here's a shoutout to a couple outstanding female musicians focused on actual music and mastering their instruments. Like Billie, they've ratched down the sexuality, though they could clearly play that card. Check out Tash Sultana and Larkin Poe, which features the Lovell sisters.
Oddly enough, both Tash and Megan Lovell have also breathed fresh life into a male bastion of ripping guitar soloists that borders on exhaustion. So not only do they lower the temperature on today's female hypersexuality in music, they breath a desperately needed sublime femininity and creativity into this testosterone-dominated cannon. Not to mention a focus on music itself. Remember that? Bless them all.
13
@Logan Hebner
The Lovells, all three, are masterful instrumentalists with rare musical sense. Its a wonder to see such playing, to hear such singing combined with confidence and exuberance like theirs. Thanks for mentioning them.
2
It's about time that young women can be fully accepted while being fully clothed.
119
Her look reminds me of 90s grunge, except with a neon flair. Keep doing what you’re doing, Billie Eilish. It’s a nice change from the dull, dolled up look of so many other young female pop stars.
40
@Zareen remember TLC in the early nineties?
3
@Zareen - She looks like every young girl I have met here in Seattle since I got here in the 80's.
16
Maybe now, can we say it's the end of the world as we know it?
There are 10-year-old influencers. And The New York Times is quoting them. Without irony.
87
@L Fitzgerald Yes, and the biggest most terrifying "influencer" in global culture is the 35-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, a megalomaniac juvenile brat masquerading as a genius.
17
@L Fitzgerald Age does not always result in wisdom. Our current president is proof of that.
4
I would never date anyone who looked like these posers. Ugly fashion to be "real people" is still ugly fashion.
7
@Stanley Gomez Is anyone concerned about this? These people don't dress for the ability to date you. Does anyone?
12
@Stanley Gomez doubt they care about whether or not you want to date them. You sound like someone THEY would not want to date.
4
@Stanley Gomez
No one:
Stanley Gomez: I would never date anyone who looked like these posers.
Love that Girl!!!
1
Doesn’t it occur to the Times that the constant stream of self-indulgent and self-important “influencers” is just another tired iteration of the “next big thing”?
Small wonder that the #hashtag generation isn’t equipped to deal with anything that pricks their narcissistic bubbles.
13
Being a throwback to the Motown era, it's comforting to know that, one again, young female singers don't have to look and act like exotic dancers to be recognized. Now, if Ms. Eillish could throw us a happy tune to which we old fogeys could groove would be complete.
5
Really?
4
Whatever.
5
The girls in the fan pics look either drugged or bored .... which moved me to google her images:
Eilish looks hostile, supercilious, or emotionally blank in almost all her publicity stills, like she is setting up to be an idol for the emotionally damaged and the dysfunctional. Where is the joy, the warmth, and the humanity? This girl is eighteen with the world at her feet and she looks perpetually bored and angry, and legions of fans are entranced by this?
It makes me feel really depressed, along with the burning continents, the rise of fascism internationally, and the demise of truth.
25
@Arthur I did and thought the same thing. The first thing that popped into my mind is she reminds me of the actress Aubrey Plaza on "Parks and Recreation", emotionless, distant look.
The second thing is that her clothing style is nothing more than a rehashed 90's look that many of the kids I was in school with wore.
6
@Arthur Do you remember being a teenager? Do you know any teenagers?
It can be ok to have someone validate that you're not feeling like sunshine and rainbows while you struggle to find your place in the world.
16
@Arthur Yet another man telling a woman to just smile because she'll look better. Please, no.
31
At 60 I had hoped the freedom given to women would stick but it didn't. For decades femininity got more and more sever until now female sexuality is in our faces like nothing else and we are required to not respond to it. Looks like Billie Eilish got the idea, than you.
3
So for you “freedom” doesn’t include the freedom to be an overtly sexual being?
@Astralnut - lol, I'm 61 and women are just starting to catch up to early Cher and Tina Turner for female sexuality in your face:)) Dolly Pardon??
Billie is this generation's attempt at Alanis Morissette, Macy Gray, or Patti Smith.
1
Billie seems more than capable of withstanding attempts by the music industry to dictate her look...She comes from a great family, with lot's of support and "protection" from the parasitic managers and clone producing producers who want everything packaged and marketed...until they've drained every last nickle out of it. Billie may have sparked a fashion revolution that will sustain for years to come....
1
Ugh
10
This is great. There should be alternative idols for younger kids besides the hyper sexual, skin everywhere look.
26
Smells like teen spirit to me
13
@CathyK Exactly!
2
Little girl quiet voice works as opposite of the bold rap style colors and oversized clothes taking up space. Kind of crossover white to black culture
How can anyone say that Eilish is showing "young people a path to being themselves," in once more adopting an of the moment aesthetic. They are simply absorbing and imitating one more fashion trend on wide display. The most beneficial echo of Ms. Eilish's costuming (that's what it is) isn't her edgy hair coloring or saggy baggy elephant clothing aethetic. It's simply her choice to withold the shape of her body from public gaze. She mentions this openly and that in and of itself is somewhat novel. The fact that she is doing that swathed in Gucci isn't so unique and is part of the game all celebrities play. As a role model, the idea that young girls can begin to think about their ownership of their bodies is the real value modeled by Eilish. I would hate to see that genuine value distorted and absorbed as just another leg of the pr/branding/marketing machine.
87
@Name I think I'm ok with that because isn't that the only way that it becomes part of society? accepted by society? tolerated and approved by society? Wouldn't that be a wonderful result?
Love Billie and it's great to hear that she's inspiring others to be themselves through fashion. However, her fashion style while perhaps not the pop-norm, is still a manufactured style that her record label is hugely profiting from. She was suited in a custom Gucci outfit for the Grammy's. That's not "apparent realness" as this article says. Counter that to someone like Lana Del Rey who went to the mall, picked a dress off the rack at Dillard's, tailored it a little, and wore that to the red-carpet. THAT'S being rebellious to me.
69
@Brandon
You just have a thing for Ms. Del Ray ;)
1
@Brandon
Totally agree. It feels attainable and normal. Something anyone can do. And today it is like a little act of rebellion - I physically went to the mall and bought this. Who knows - maybe Lana can save brick and mortar. Wouldn't that be an accomplishment!
5
"artist is showing young people a path to being themselves"
If they are dressing to look like Ms. Eilish they are NOT trying to be themselves. They just want to look like their idol.
49
Another prepackaged image for a new generation to use as a tool to get kids and parents to burn their little savings on expensive clothes. She will laugh her way to the bank while the rest of you end up broke.
17
@Stefon Check out Wild Fang and most the girls prefer to thrift shop! It is actually very incredible and much easier for them to create this style. Albeit, they do absolutely love it when the find a designer at the thrift shop for $10! Go Girls!
1
Wow. A pop star influences his or her peers for the first time in history and young women adopt a fashion trend. Unprecedented.
26
Go Billie, Go Gen Z! I love them both!
1
Gen Z is such a weak name. Please let the Gen Letter die with X. It offers no description to the current generation which they deserve. It worked for X, but not for others.
1
She reminds me of us, Gen Xers in the 90s. I'm in my 40s and I'm a fan. I'm very glad to see a young female star eschewing the Kardashian-esque "cute sexy" attitude and that dreadful baby vixen voice.
32
The oversized clothes that obscure her body remove the element of being judged according to society’s ruthlessly sexist standards. We should all be thrilled that young women are adopting this perspective: my worth is not defined by what you think of my attractiveness.
35
Interesting how different teenagers perceive emancipation.
To them, Madonna is a female that is showing off her body to men. To them, there's no gain and it is not interesting following the x-th Madonna clone, such as Taylor Swift or even some soul legends. Also, all those bitchie-bitchie hip hop queens do not work for them either, because they too play mainly with male perceptions of the female body and its sexuality.
Eilish's music is boring to me, but I see what's so striking about her. Probably a good trend.
4
"...favors a pastiche of outsize 1980s and ’90s hip-hop and skater looks"
So she is pretty much dresses many kids did back in the '90s!? Shes not doing anyting new. Sometimes I feel people look for reasons to hype someone one up.
“Copycat trying to cop my manner/ Watch your back when you can’t watch mine,” she taunts in “Copycat,”
So she can copy but others can't!?
8
This isn't a particularly new phenomenon. When I was little, Pat Benatar was on the radio and a lot of the older girls cut their hair and dressed like Pat Benatar. Later, when Madonna became the a big pop star and a lot of the girls my age started dressing and wearing their hair like Madonna. I'm sure it happened before I was born, and it continues today with Billie Eilish.
8
All that's old is new again. I guess psychedelica never happened in the late '60's? Punk never happened in the '70s? New Wave never happened in the '80s? Club kids/EDM never happened in the '90's?
I guess it comes down to every generation thinking they invented something... since they weren't willing to look back in time and see that, nope, it's already been done, and usually took WAY more gumption to do it back then than it does now.
It's sad that those that DO recognize that they're rehashing old trends are few and far between, or just don't admit to it in their Instagram feeds.
8
As I read about the fashion changes Bille Eilish has inspired among teenage girls, I smiled at her fans’ embrace of clothing that offers an escape from the hyper-sexualized clothing now in style.
As a boomer born in the middle of the pack (early 50s), I remember the first morning I wore blue jeans to high school instead of a dress or short skirt. I was 15 or so, late sixties, in the South.
As I approached the front door to leave, my mom said, “You are not wearing those to school.”
“Yes, I am,” I replied as I walked out the door.
I do not remember another word said. I can’t say I never wore another dress, but jeans quickly became a uniform. I remember an incredible sense of freedom wearing clothes that were comfortable and covering, not modest, just covered.
I love that Billie Eilish is offering young women inspiration in music and dress to turn away from the prison of hyper-sexualized styles toward something fresh and unique, not sexualized. I love their embrace of the freedom and confidence it brings too.
22
I think any female pop star is going to get the objectifying male gaze whether they want to or not. Ellish’s look broadens the palate and makes her feel in control. Bravo for her. Working in a high school I see how that broadening helps others address how they feel about adulthood.
From my very partial perspective she is just plain beautiful. And ridiculously talented.
13
@Pomeister How amazingly oblivious you are to the fact many if not most female pop stars welcome and entice the so-called "male gaze." Madonna, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Gaga, et al, have made their careers off selling it.
2
Billie Eilish presents in fresh and creative ways. Still, she wears expensive designer clothes and thousand dollar sneakers.
When I was in high school, I had a pair of blue suede Adidas which were very comfortable and very cool looking. Most any "middle-class" kid's parents could afford to buy them for their kid without having to go into debt doing so. In fact, the concept of ultra expensive, designer sneakers didn't even exist.
17
Her look is extremely intentional, as it’s almost impossible not to be on the self-absorbed side at her age (you can hear it in her music too), but I’m glad she’s so popular and is showing a pathway for young people not to have to conform to strict notions of beauty and fashion.
7
Good analysis of her look -- and pointing out (carefully) that there's a stylist behind that. I do find it curious that there was no mention of Gucci Gucci everywhere -- at least at the Grammy's. Aspirational? Ironic? Branding? Endorsement? All of the above?
19
I am a boomer, and grew up in the fashion oppressive 1950s and early 1960s, where women were overly stereotyped and sexualized, particularly in fashion. I remember sleeping with my hair in rollers. The hippie movement of the late 1960s freed us from lacquered hairstyles and prim fashion. We bought clothes from surplus stores and second hand stores. I had vintage fur coats, my boyfriend’s jeans with the knees blown out (naturally), surplus sailor’s bellbottom pants and wore my hair long and straight, parted in the middle. I’m happy to relate to Gen Z, a generation and that has grown up so differently, and yet it’s cyclical. Our culture becomes oppressive again and again, but in different ways; for them it’s algorithm based, for us it was post- world war II conformity.
56
@Kris My students and I are reading The Catcher in the Rye right now, and you can bet that I'm going to mention to them your point about post-WWII conformity. Thanks for your perspective.
7
@Kris It is so nice to hear from a fellow boomer that has managed to keep an open mind.
5
I live in a parallel universe called adulthood, so none of this applies to me. But I do like Billie Eilish. World needs more rambunctious artists dressed for combat.
49
Yes indeed, Mr. Fedorable ~
“Dressed for combat” in Gucci. And I would also seriously question the substance of any “rambunctious artists” who make such a loud display of selling out to an ultra-expensive fashion brand-name.
8
@Mr. Fedorable You can be an adult and still have your own unique style like Billie. And the oldest members of Gen Z (myself included) are adults now.
2
Does it matter what details make up the look if it's the result of undue concern about it? That is to say real rebellion would be to not care about the presentation and care more about substance. By means of creating a new look one simply continues the never ending cycle of fashion hash and rehash and perpetuates the pursuit of currency or meaning in consumer purchases. What does it matter if one chooses brand X over Y? Oh, X means in and Y means out. How does that free young people of any genetic instantiation? It simply binds them to a quicker and more elusive cycle of fad. Guess what, consumerism is the HEART of what's wrong with the planet.
45
@larkspur I completely agree, but love her antidote to the dated, shamelessly oversexualized styles of Beyonce, Jlo, Ariana Grande and most or many of the other female pop stars currently out there. I have cringed when watching all three, porn stars come to life who can sing beautifully.
14
@larkspur
I agree strongly with your take on consumerism. But your harsh judgement of "undue concern about" one's look sounds a bit too much like the good Rev. Dimsdale for my taste. Each to her taste, let a billion flowers bloom.
1