Billie Eilish Convinces Oscar de la Renta to Ban Fur
The 19-year old singer and activist wore a show-stopping gown by the iconic designer to the Met Gala - but only after the fashion house agreed to ban fur from its future collections.
Credit: Oscar de la Renta/Facebook
Musician Billie Eilish agreed to wear a stunning gown by Oscar de la Renta to this year’s Met Gala on one condition - that the iconic fashion house finally ditch fur.
The 19-year-old is known for using her platform to promote causes and charities that she supports. And having been vegan for over seven years, she regularly posts about the suffering of animals and the benefits of a plant-based lifestyle to her over 90 million Instagram followers.
Now, Ms. Eilish has brought her activism to the Met Gala, by encouraging Oscar de la Renta to ban fur from their collections. The fur ban was a condition set by Eilish - her team had told the fashion house that she doesn’t work with brands in the fur business, reports The New York Times.
Alex Bolen, Oscar de la Renta’s chief executive, has long resisted calls for the brand to ban fur, and continued to sell fur products in stores.
However, Bolen was inspired by Eilish’s request, noting that the late Oscar de la Renta himself had encouraged designers to listen to the younger generations.
“I thought a lot about what Oscar said — he was a big fan of fur, by the way — that the one thing he really worried about in the fashion business was his eye getting old,” explained Bolen. “It reminded him to listen to what young people, in particular, had to say. I have to surround myself with people with different points of view.”
The brand’s decision resulted in Eilish wearing designs by Oscar de la Renta to fashion’s biggest night, with the singer dressed in a nude tulle dress with a 15-foot train.
“I’m honored to have been a catalyst and to have been heard on this matter,” Ms. Eilish said in a statement to The New York Times, adding that she found it “shocking that wearing fur isn’t completely outlawed at this point in 2021”.
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The news comes just weeks after H5N1 bird flu was identified for the first time among dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas.