Billie Eilish looked stunning in the Oscar de la Renta nude tulle dress she chose for Monday’s Met Gala. The star made her Met Gala and co-hosting debut in the designer’s glamorous gown on the condition that the company stop selling products utilizing fur, The New York Times reports.
The vegan and animal rights activist agreed to wear the gown after the company agreed to cease all fur sales. The label’s creative directors Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim have not created pieces utilizing fur for a few years, telling Alex Bolen, the label’s chief executive, that they didn’t feel the material was relevant, among other reasons.
Bolen disagreed, but did approve of fur not being used on the runway. However, the brand continued to sell items featuring fur in stores. Annette de la Renta, Oscar’s widow, and Eliza Bolen, an executive in the company who is married to Bolen, also urged Bolen to end the use of fur, but Bolen resisted.
Eilish’s plea turned the tide. “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,” Bolen told The Times.
Eilish said in a statement to The Times that it was “shocking that wearing fur isn’t completely outlawed at this point in 2021. She added: “I’m honored to have been a catalyst and to have been heard on this matter.”