Billie Eilish’s Oscar de la Renta Met Gala Gown Is an Ode to Marilyn Monroe

Billie Eilish’s viral British Vogue cover story paid homage to retro Hollywood sirens, and now she’s chosen to channel perhaps the most revered pinup of all at the 2021 Met gala: Marilyn Monroe. Eilish—a co-chair of the gala along with fellow Gen-Z superstars Timothée Chalamet, Naomi Osaka, and Amanda Gorman—floated onto the red carpet in a frothy black gown by Oscar de la Renta, inspired by the tulle dress Monroe wore to attend the Oscars in 1951. The theme of this year’s ball is “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” so Eilish turned to one of the biggest names in U.S. fashion to craft her ode to a woman as ingrained in American culture as stars and stripes. 

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Marilyn Monroe attended the Oscars only once, in 1951. She’s seen here wearing the tulle gown she went on to borrow from the 20th Century Fox wardrobe department to wear on the night. 

Sunset Boulevard

“Billie had planned to go to the Met gala for the first time before the pandemic happened,” shares British Vogue’s style director, Dena Giannini, who styled the Happier Than Ever star for the event. “She had always dreamed of wearing a proper ball gown—particularly something corseted, thanks to her love of Barbies growing up—but she thought that it might be in an acid green colorway or something along those lines. After her British Vogue cover, though, her style began to evolve. After reviewing about a million images together, she and I decided that it had to be Oscar de la Renta for the Met gala. I called [creative directors] Laura [Kim] and Fernando [Garcia], and within 10 minutes, we’d agreed to collaborate together.”

Several months and toile fittings later, Eilish had her finished red-carpet look: a sustainable ombré gown that’s featherlight despite being dramatically voluminous. “I find it shocking that wearing fur isn’t completely outlawed at this point in 2021,” Eilish said. “I am so beyond thrilled that Fernando and Laura and the rest of the Oscar de la Renta team heard me on this issue and have made a change that not only makes an impact for the greater good for animals but also for our planet and environment too. I’m honored to have been a catalyst and to have been heard on this matter. I urge all designers to do the same.”

While Monroe remains a silver-screen legend almost 60 years after her death, she attended the Academy Awards only once, presenting the statuette for best sound recording to All About Eve’s Thomas T. Moulton. For the occasion, the quintessential all-American girl borrowed an off-the-shoulder black gown by fabled costumer Charles LeMaire from the wardrobe department at 20th Century Fox. “Billie and I both love the great costume designers that have really shaped America’s fashion history, and the neckline and décolletage on Marilyn’s gown definitely inspired us.” Completing the look? No fewer than 30 pieces of Cartier jewelry, including 25 rings—the most ever worn by a starlet on the red carpet.

Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief (1955). 

Silver Screen Collection

After making her way past the cameras, however, Eilish changed into a more streamlined—but no less magical—dress, swapping a train for a cape and Monroe for another Hollywood legend: Grace Kelly. “Just like LeMaire, designer Edith Head had such a meticulous approach to her beautiful work, and that’s especially clear in the pieces she created for Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief,” Giannini says. Garcia and Kim were tasked with reimagining the strapless white gown Kelly wore in the 1955 thriller—but in a head-turning shade of deepest red. Just as breathtaking? Eilish’s vintage ’30s Cartier bracelets, which once belonged to gold-rush heiress Evalyn Walsh McLean, the one-time owner of the Hope Diamond.  


Director: Max Bartick
DP: Frank Apollonio, Rachel Batashvili
Editor: Reuter 
Online Editor: Micah Phillips
Supervising Producer: Jordin Rocchi
Producer, On-Set: Nicola Pardy
AC: Alex Beebe
Audio: Sean Paulsen
Assistant Editors: Justin Symonds, JC Scruggs, Andy Morell
PA: Carlo Betia
Filmed on Location: The Mark
VP, Digital Video Programming and Development: Robert Semmer
Director of Content: Tara Homeri
Showrunner: Lila Benaissa
Production Manager: Emily Yates
Post-Production Supervisor: Marco Glinbizzi

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