Billie Eilish recycles outfits often, and her focus on sustainability has won her the Vanguard Spotlight Award at the 2024 Costume Designers Guild Awards in Hollywood.
Photo: Shutterstock
This week, Billie Eilish was a guest of honor at the 2024 Costume Designers Guild Awards in Hollywood. The singer was given the Vanguard Spotlight Award, which celebrates a visionary trailblazer who uses their fashion choices to celebrate other innovative designers. The star—who recently won a Golden Globe with her brother Finneas for Best Original Song, for their Barbie track “What Was I Made For?”—was particularly recognized for her dedication to wearing upcycled and sustainable pieces. “Eilish has always prioritized ethics and incorporated her beliefs into her looks,” read a release, “while remaining true to herself and never compromising her image.”
It’s true: Eilish has often used her platform to encourage sustainable practices, including through her 2022 climate-focused “Overheated” conference, and her 2022 Met Gala gown by Gucci, which was made entirely of upcycled materials. It only makes sense, then, that her red carpet look the CDGAs was also sustainably-minded.
Instead of wearing a new or custom garment, the star chose to recycle her 2020 Oscars look, which was designed by Gucci’s then-creative director Alessandro Michele. The ensemble included the very same sparkly shirt and trousers, and monogrammed mesh top worn underneath.
Billie Eilish in the Gucci look at the 2020 Oscars. Photo: Getty
For Eilish, it was important to make a more thoughtful fashion statement at the event, and she saw continuing her red carpet recycling as the perfect way to do so. “Wearing only new clothes all the time is unnecessary and unsustainable,” Eilish tells Vogue. “I’m so lucky to be able to wear so many incredible clothes for my performances and public appearances. I wanted to celebrate their beauty and the craft of everyone who designed and made them by wearing them again.”
Eilish first wore the Gucci look to perform at the 2020 Oscars with her brother Finneas; The duo performed a cover of “Yesterday” by The Beatles, during the In Memoriam special. With the pressure on celebrities to constantly churn out new looks and create memorable fashion moments, Eilish’s call for more repeat and rewearing last night was refreshing. “If I love them, I don’t want them to just live in an archive,” she says. “I want to wear them!” And why not? No one aces re-wears quite like Billie Eilish recycles outfits.
Costume designer Shirley Kurata and Billie Eilish. Photo: Shutterstock
Originally published in Vogue.com
