When Billie Eilish first caught the attention of the global media, the world was struck by her innovative approach to music and her thought-provoking lyrics. However, it appeared that many people were unable to reconcile her musical success with her now-infamous fashion style.
Fans of hip hop instantly recognized the oversized clothes and lack of traditional feminine tailoring as the hallmarks of streetwear, but the move from urban culture to the mainstream was in its infancy. Eilish's love of bright colors, oversized outerwear, and graffiti-inspired prints has raised more than a few eyebrows, but it is simply a continuation of a trend that dates back decades.
In the 1970s and 80s, when hip hop was rapidly becoming a cultural phenomenon, the unlikely merging of skate culture and rap culture created a space into which streetwear was born. Both groups favored practical clothing that allowed for freedom of movement, but with the option for accessories that demonstrated an individual style such as a female varsity jacket or a pair of limited-edition sneakers.
The Origins of Streetwear
New York skaters had adopted a lot of the prints and patterns popular among the West-Coast surfers, and rappers were embracing their roots and breathing new life into traditional African and African American designs. Both groups prized originality and creativity, with a number of small-scale producers creating prints for tee-shirts and hoodies specifically for the artists and performers that they admired.
The original streetwear was part of the counter cultural scene that incorporated a wide-scale rejection of the mainstream fashions of the day. Although both scenes were massively male dominated, the appeal of practical, comfortable clothing that wasn't designed to showcase the female silhouette was undeniable.
Women had been waiting for an opportunity to embrace a new style of dress where comfort and practicality were the starting points. Although women were not the target market for most of the clothing lines available, the sizing and fit meant that women could just choose from the lines available to men and accessorize appropriately.
Women Designing for Women
Large hoodies, wide-legged pants, and sneakers were increasingly an option for women that wanted to embrace the streetwear aesthetic. As streetwear became more and more popular, women continued to opt out of their previous restricted fashion lines, choosing instead to create their own style from what was available.
Before long, women were designing their own streetwear lines, creating clothing that could compete in the male-dominated arena and gradually luring women away from the men's racks and towards the same practical and comfortable clothing, but designed specifically with women in mind.
Female Streetwear Pioneers
Meanwhile, some of the biggest names in music at the time, such as Janet Jackson and Missy Elliot, were incorporating streetwear into their stage outfits. Jackson was already straddling the worlds of pop and R and B and was known for her daring fashion choices and Elliot appeared in a music video and even onstage in an inflatable patent suit which cemented her image as a truly groundbreaking style icon.
Streetwear was also evolving, expanding from the traditional workwear brands and small-scale artisanal designed tee-shirts. International design houses were beginning to see the appeal of streetwear but also recognized that a 'high fashion' option undermined the whole aesthetic.
This led to some truly groundbreaking collabs in which renowned fashion houses turned out their take on athleisure wear, creating some of the blingiest leisure outfits ever. Missy Elliot famously turned fashion expectations on their head by turning up to red-carpet events in jewel-encrusted Chanel sweats and brightly colored Adidas tracksuits, all accessorized with bold statement jewelry, sweatbands, and baseball caps.
So, with all this groundwork out of the way, Billie Eilish has many strong, female streetwear trailblazers to thank for the wide availability of her favored outsized but stylish clothing. As a well-respected ambassador for women in music and fashion, Billie Eilish has taken women's streetwear one step closer to the mainstream and a more widespread understanding and acceptance of the style.