You Will See Her in a Crown: Interview with Billie Eilish

Photographer + Creative Direction / Angelo Kritikos

Styling / Samantha Burkhart

Makeup / Robert Rumsey

Hair / Joseph Chase

story / Mikhael Agafonov

An old soul trapped in the body of the style-savvy teen, 17-year-old Billie Eilish has been making waves and expanding her international fanbase for a few years now. And with the release of her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? she’s about to cement her name on the rebels-with-a-cause wall of fame. Mixing dreamy with creepy and going from soothing to frightening in a matter of seconds, the record is a master class in minimalism, feminism, escapism and any other –isms you can come up with. Billie is fully in control and in her element here, becoming a poster child for risk takers and dreamers of all ages.
Here are some of our favorite takeaways from talking with Billie about all kinds of topics, from avocados to favorite celebrity mugshots.

  
On her Instagram handle @wherearetheavocados:
“A lot of people think I’m obsessed with avocados. I mean, avocados are great. My username on Instagram goes back to 2015 when I made a grilled cheese, I was home alone and needed some avocados. I looked all around the kitchen: I looked in the fridge, I looked in the cardboard, I looked under my bed, but I didn’t find any. And I remember screaming at the top of my lungs: “Where are the avocados?!” And immediately thought it would be funny if it was my username. I did it as a joke, kind of. And it’s like a thing now. But sure, avocados are great.”

On Valentine’s day: “I don’t get people who hate it. Just let people be in love!”

On the things that give her belly ache: “I’m vegan because I’m allergic to dairy and gluten and stuff. I still eat it ‘cause it’s kinds good, but yeah, I’m vegan, gluten-free. I didn’t believe that I was lactose-intolerant and I’d eat a bowl of ice cream if I wanted to. But then I’d always get belly aches all throughout my childhood. And I remember thinking “I don’t think I’ve ever not had a stomach ache”. And I thought “This is stupid, I should stop eating all the stuff that makes me feel like this”. And I stopped.”

On favorite celebrity mugshots: “I think Tyler, the Creator’s was pretty funny. I remember when Justin Bieber’s got arrested and that mugshot got out and everyone was like “What?!”. Yo, you know whose mugshot I really feel is? Sarah Snyder! That’s my answer, forget about the other ones. So sick, she’s such a badass. And she put it on a shirt and wore it to the court. Way to get out of things!”

On her unique fashion sense: “I don’t think there is an uncool side to fashion. If you rock it and you’re feeling confident, then it’s cool. You know what I mean: no matter what it looks like, even if it’s the ugliest shit in the world, if you’re confident and going for it, then it’s sick. I like when people go for the stuff that you’ve never seen before. Trying to create something that’s never been created – that’s the sickest thing. I try to do that with my fashion. All the clothes I wear are like guy’s clothes. ”

On the idea of rapping: “I don’t plan to rap, no. Because people would come for me and drag me if I rapped, you know what I mean? I can do that soft rap almost when you’re singing it, but probably won’t.”