Billie Fans Will Pay Close Attention To Her Burberry Look In British Vogue

Billie Eilish revealed last year that she had ticked getting a tattoo off her bucket list, but added that her fans would never get to see it. Fast forward to this spring, and Eilish’s British Vogue cover story shows that the pop star has had a change of heart. Wearing a custom-made corseted Burberry body and sheer Mugler stockings, a slither of the inking snaking up her right hip is visible. Cue a mass social-media meltdown from her legions of young fans.

The shoot, styled by Dena Giannini, is new ground for the 19-year-old. Inspired by Betty Brosmer, Horst’s illusionist beauty shots and the stockinged models captured by Elmer Batters, Billie’s “classic, old-timey pin-up” moment is aeons away from the rap-influenced couture coords that have become her signature. “I’ve literally never done anything in this realm at all,” Eilish tells Laura Snapes in the June issue. “Y’know, besides when I’m alone and shit.”

Her transformation – complete with exquisite Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood and Balmain bodices – coincides with a chilling new song that confronts abusers who exploit underage girls, and sees Billie firmly take control of her own narrative. “Don’t make me not a role model because you’re turned on by me,” she tells Snapes. “Showing your body and showing your skin – or not – should not take any respect away from you.”

This level of confidence from a teenager who has become a woman in the public eye (she burst onto the scene at the age of 13 after uploading “Ocean Eyes” – recorded with her brother Finneas in her bedroom – to Soundcloud) is admirable, and a testament to her fanbase (82.5 million followers and counting). Her mantra going into her twenties? “It’s all about what makes you feel good. If you want to get surgery, go get surgery. If you want to wear a dress that somebody thinks that you look too big wearing, f**k it – if you feel like you look good, you look good.” Her bold tattoo, a signifier of strength for only herself, is a beacon of hope for anyone still on that path.