Billie Eilish and British Vogue’s style director Dena Giannini pored over “about a million images together” while plotting the star’s Met Gala 2021 looks. Among them? A picture of Hollywood icon Grace Kelly in the 1955 classic, To Catch a Thief, which ultimately inspired a second show-stopping Oscar de la Renta gown that the co-host changed into after she swept up the Met steps in a cloud of blush tulle.
Like the spectacular ballgown Eilish arrived at the event in, her second dress paid tribute to the feted costumer designers who “really shaped America’s fashion history”, Giannini told British Vogue ahead of the event. While Billie’s first dress nodded to the Charles LeMaire gown Marilyn Monroe borrowed from the 20th Century Fox wardrobe department for the 1951 Oscars, her slinky red gown honoured the legendary Edith Head, who masterminded the unforgettable wasp-waisted white dress worn by the future Princess Grace in the Hitchcock film.
“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 said. Oscar de la Renta’s Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim were tasked with reimagining the strapless white gown Kelly wore in the 1955 thriller, but in a head-turning shade of deepest red.
The dress featured an elegant cape for extra Old Hollywood appeal, and a thigh-high slit that showed off a hint of the tattoo Billie revealed for the first time in her viral British Vogue cover story.
