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Billie Eilish Channels Vintage Barbie in Sweet Yellow Dress and Blonde Bombshell Ponytail, Promotes New Meaningful Ballad

The Grammy award-winning singer returned to her slow song roots.

Ananya Panchal

Billie Eilish.

Billie Eilish.

Billie Eilish returned to her slow, emotional ballad roots for her latest song, What Was I Made For? The singer donned her best Barbiecore-inspired outfit—a delicate 50s-inspired puffy, pastel yellow dress paired with a curly, voluminous blonde ponytail for some fun, vintage behind-the-scenes promotion photos on Instagram.

The single, released in conjunction with a powerful music video on July 13, appears on the Greta Gerwig-directed Barbie film’s soundtrack.

“‘Cause I don’t know how to feel, but I wanna try / I don’t know how to feel, but someday I might,” she sings, alluding to Barbie wanting to learn about the real world in parallel to children aging and leaving their toys and imagination behind. “Think I forgot how to be happy / Something I’m not, but something I can be / Something I wait for / Something I’m made for.”

Eilish begins the story by playing with a tiny Barbie doll’s clothes. She takes them out of boxes, hangs them on a rack and sings about a changing world and growing up. About a third of the way through the video, the table begins to shake, clothes keep falling and it starts pouring rain.

“🎀‘What Was I Made For?’ our barbie song (& video) is out now. :’) in january greta showed me and finneas a handful of some unfinished scenes from the film; we had nooooo idea what to expect at ALLL... we were so deeeeeply moved.. that the next day we were writing and COULDNT shut up about it lolll andddddddddd ended up writing almost the entire song that night,” the 21-year-old wrote alongside a post shared with her 109 million followers when she first announced the song. “to be real with you this all seemed to happen in a time when i really needed it. i’m so so thankful for that.this video makes me cryyyyy.. it means so much to me and i hope it will mean just as much to you. don’t have much to say other than that, i think it will speak for itself🫀 :’’’’) enjoy.”

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Ananya Panchal
ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a writer on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit, where she covers fashion, beauty, pop culture and the internet’s favorite personalities and trends. She joined the brand in 2022 after roles at Bustle, the San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. Panchal loves to write about fashion in all its forms—from standout runway moments and evolving street style to the best accessories to elevate each season’s wardrobe (she rarely goes anywhere without a stack of jewelry and a coffee in hand). A self-proclaimed beauty fanatic, she’s always on the hunt for must-have products and loves breaking down viral trends. Her favorite series at the moment is spotlighting female founders and the stories behind the brands they’ve built—especially those shaping the future of fashion, wellness and tech. She is based between New York City and San Francisco and, when she’s not writing, can be found rewatching One Tree Hill, playing sudoku, trying new restaurants or ranking her favorite Disney Channel Original Movies. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and journalism with a minor in criminal justice from Boston University.

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