Amid a sea of Britney reincarnations (Tate McRae, Addison Rae, Madison Beer, the list goes on), one pop starlet has broken through by playing against type: Billie Eilish crashed the music scene as a tender teen, yet a fully formed artist, making music from her bedroom with her brother and eschewing all conventional ideas of how a pop star should look and act. The surprise wasn’t that she found fans. The music was great, and emo girls have long had a place at the table. The surprise was that she found so, so many. Her albums hit the top of the charts, her songs won Oscars, she landed the cover of Vogue.
Under the megawatt glare of the spotlight, Eilish made the bold choice to spend the first part of her career covering her body in oversized clothing to avoid scrutiny about her size one way or the other, opting for label-forward prints and bright hairstyles. As she grew and matured, she began to embrace her shape bit by bit and experimented with more tailored pieces, but you’ll never see her in the bodysuit other singers seem to wear as their onstage uniform or the cocktail dresses her fellow celebrities trot out for events. She is only, ever, Billie Eilish.
To see her evolution over the years, take a look back at 20 of her most interesting and iconic looks!