While it would be remiss to reduce Western fashion to just “cowboycore,” as we’ve seen TikTok influencers refer to it, it is evident that in the past couple of years there has been a steep increase in the interest of cowboy-inspired fashion. This return to the great American West, when such styles were used for their functionality before they became fashion statements, can be accredited to multiple reasons, all of which come full circle.

There is no denying the influence of pop culture on fashion, and so with the release of Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” earlier this year, there was an immediate demand for all things Western. According to @databutmakeitfashion, popularity of cowboy hats increased by 85% after the release of the album, with cowboy boots seeing a 27% increase, Levi’s seeing a 54% increase, and denim on denim outfits seeing a 14% increase.

The American West has been synonymous with American culture and white America for years, after being adopted by Hollywood, but that is nowhere near an accurate depiction of the original cowboys, which is something to which Beyoncé’s album brings attention. Through the imagery nodding to Black women’s rodeo style, music paying homage to Linda Martell, and bringing attention to the Black roots of country music and cowboys, Beyoncé reminds us that it is more often than not the Black community that originates trends that white people adopt. For example, Bill Pickett was a celebrated Black cowboy, not only known for popularizing “bulldogging,” which is a rodeo technique, but also for his practical and fashionable rodeo style that has left its mark to this day. Too often that history is blurred and lost, as Franz Fanon writes in The Wretched of the Earth, “Colonisation is not satisfied merely with holding a people in its grip and emptying the native's brain of all form and content. By a kind of perverted logic, it turns to the past of oppressed people, and distorts, disfigures and destroys it.”

Left to right: Linda Martell, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), Bill Pickett

Before the Nudie suit, rhinestone cowboys, cowboys vs Indians, or spaghetti westerns, there were vaqueros in Spanish colonized Texas and Mexico. Although slavery was illegal in Mexico, Americans still brought their slaves along to set up cattle ranches, and according to Smithsonian Magazine, one in four cowboys was black. After the Civil War, being a cowboy was one of the only jobs available to men of color, and while white people were referred to as “cowhands,” Black people were called “cowboys” regardless of their age, which is where the term we use today gets its not so pleasant roots.

So how does this all relate to the popularity of cowboy fashion today? Well, although economists say that the economy is doing just fine, regardless of inflation, consumers are not feeling the same. There is uncertainty when it comes to the political and economic climate, which can lead consumers to look for stability wherever they can find it. People often look to the past and feelings of nostalgia when they feel uncertain, and the American West has long been associated with resilience and freedom. There’s a novelty to the specificity of the cowboy aesthetic that appeals to consumers, among the majority of brands that produce more commercial collections. Especially during times of recession, when it is common for consumers to spend money on smaller luxuries and trends that are more affordable. It becomes more about the symbolism items like cowboy hats, cowboy boots, bolo ties, and fringe jackets hold, instead of what they actually are. In The Fashion System, Roland Barthes writes, “Clothing is a system of signs, an array of symbols that communicate social status, identity, and cultural meaning,” which relates to the way consumers try to find community through the buy-in of specific trends, with fast fashion and mass consumption making these trends more accessible.

Left to right: Nadia Lee Cohen for Paris Texas, Bella Hadid, Kim Kardashian

This comes at a time when we see a rise in conservatism and traditional values, furthering the false narrative of the American West, cowboy fashion, and a “better time.” On the other hand, we see marginalized groups subverting mainstream narratives, using fashion to create visibility and redefine identity, as seen with Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” and more recently with Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter,” and Orville Peck and Willie Nelson’s, “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other.” As Joanne Entwistle says in The Fashioned Body, “Fashion is not just about clothes but is a cultural phenomenon embedded in social practices and power relations.”

In the fashion space specifically, Pharrell Williams’ Fall 2024 Menswear collection for Louis Vuitton drew inspiration from Native Americans and cowboys, Molly Goddard’s Fall 2024 collection featured western style shirts, and Schiaparelli Spring 2024 Couture touched on Daniel Roseberry’s Texas upbringing; brands like Telfar, Ralph Lauren, and LaQuan Smith have incorporated cowboy iconography into their collections in the past. Cowboy fashion aligns with the 2010s boho chic revival we’re experiencing as well, featured in Chloé’s Fall 2024 collection. Along with luxury brands, more traditional western brands are seeing an increase in the number of their clientele, which cements this era of fashion as something more permanent in terms of everyday dress, instead of just being a fleeting costume.

Left to right: Louis Vuitton Fall 2024 Menswear, Molly Goddard Fall 2024, Schiaparelli Spring 2024 Couture, Chloé Fall 2024

So yes, Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” and Bella Hadid’s cowboy boyfriend might have something to do with everyone wanting to release their inner yee-haw, but fashion is often more than meets the eye, and aligns itself with greater conversations occurring throughout the culture at large, and “cowboycore” is no different.

Article by Caroline Nycek, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
Tearsheets by Daniel López, Art Director, PhotoBook Magazine

The Return to the Great American West, with Cowboy-Inspired Fashion