Rihanna's 2014 CFDA speech was hugely inspirational to Billie Eilish, who cited it in a recent Vogue Australia video interview when diving into the personal importance of her aesthetic.
"What I like about just dressing like I'm 800 sizes bigger than I am is it kinda gives nobody the opportunity to judge what your body looks like," Eilish, as seen in the video below, said. "I don't wanna give anyone the excuse of judging. It's not like everyone's gonna judge you but they all do in their head. Anything you look at, you judge. That's just how we work. That's how human beings work."
Adding that she wants to remain "mysterious," Eilish was then asked what she loves about fashion.
"I remember seeing an acceptance speech that Rihanna gave where she said that fashion has always been her defense mechanism, and I feel like I've never felt something as strongly hearing someone else say it as I did when I heard her say that," she said. "It's always been that way for me. It's always been my security blanket. It's my way of expression without having to use words . . . Fashion is its own language and I use mine all day, every day. I always have."
Earlier this week, Eilish fans came to her defense amid objectifying comments from Twitter trolls.
Eilish recently landed on Complex's rundown of the best albums of 2019 (so far) with her debut studio album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?