In January, Pharrell Williams, the singer turned men’s creative director of Louis Vuitton, transformed the label’s Paris men’s fashion week catwalk into a giant pop-up box reminiscent of a barren desert.
Models strutted out in cowboy hats, shearling, accessories made in collaboration with Native American artists, Timberland boots, and other nods to the Western aesthetic that Williams called “worker-wear”.
On a different continent, in March, veteran Indian fashion designer Rajesh Pratap Singh showed his polo-inspired collection in collaboration with Argentinian brand La Martina at Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Racecourse.
Referencing his upbringing in Jaipur, the capital of India’s Rajasthan state, in the 1980s, surrounded by “fashion with a nod to the Western look”, Singh offered an Indian take on the Argentinian cowboy aesthetic, which manifested as a dusting of indigenous block prints on breeches and cowboy shirts, checks and longline coats, hats, and riding boots.
She created Taylor Swift’s birthday dress, been worn by Rosé, Kim Kardashian
She created Taylor Swift’s birthday dress, been worn by Rosé, Kim Kardashian
To search for the beginnings of the cowboy trend – a look punctuated by fringes, denim, embroidery and so much more – would be attempting to find a needle in a Texas-sized haystack.
However, Patricia Mears, deputy director at The Museum at FIT (the Fashion Institute of Technology), in New York, sheds some light on the trend that explains its resonance today.
“Everybody knows that Americans did not invent the blue jean, a staple in the cowboy trend,” she says. The indigo-dyed twill fabric was “filtered through Americans from Europe, slaves from the south importing technology from Asia as far as India through to western Europe”.
According to Mears, America’s early adoption of mass production allowed brands to sell these clothes to workers throughout the country, and businessman Levi Strauss in particular branded it as a very Western take on workwear.
Mears also explains the cowboy look’s “patchworked” aesthetic.
“Elements like fringe come from indigenous people on the [US] east coast. Suede fringe jackets that Native Americans wore, combined with embroidered elements that come from Latin America and Eastern Europe, combined with the silhouettes that were often traditional workwear jackets coming out of the men’s tailoring tradition, all [became] melded together,” she says.
Cowboy-core went from “worker-wear” to glitzy country music costume thanks to early singers who worked on ranches during the day and performed in bars at night.
Now we are seeing the look go through yet another evolution.
Responsible for the mid-calf vanilla Paloma boot worn by Beyoncé on her new album cover, Milan-based Paris Texas is a fashion brand named for the chic sensuality of the French city and the boldness of the American state.
Its creative director, Annamaria Brivio, says fascination with the Western style goes in cycles and is surging now because of “people seeking versatile pieces that evoke tradition, trans-seasonality and individuality”.
In Brivio’s opinion, Western wear offers precisely that.
Paris Texas’ styles include classics such as the cowboy boot and the riding boot, “but it is part of our DNA to reinterpret classic designs by adding a ‘Paris’ twist”, Brivio says.
“We use prints, special materials and small detailings such as buckles on more feminine styles such as décolleté, florals on Western boots, and printed calf hair on stiletto boots.”
The boot seen on Beyoncé, as styled by Shiona Turini, features a sharp pointed toe, stiletto heel and Texas-style panelling for extra flair.
Paris Texas has become the go-to label for fashion-forward cowboy boots, according to Libby Page, market director at online fashion retailer Net-a-Porter, along with US-based label Khaite, particularly for its Dallas boot.
Kylie Jenner is a fan: the rise of Gen Z-loved fashion label Isa Boulder
Kylie Jenner is a fan: the rise of Gen Z-loved fashion label Isa Boulder
Over the last six months, Western wear sales have grown in the EU and US markets by 101 and 41 per cent, respectively, according to Net-a-Porter, and as the trend grows, it has taken on new characteristics.
To start, the body is more exposed, Mears says, adding that the rise of “overtly feminine elements” is something a traditional country music singer would likely avoid.
“We’ve seen this [new trend] with Beyoncé and Lana Del Rey of course, but also [with] one of the most beloved cultural figures in America, Dolly Parton, really bringing this forward in that very controversial performance she just gave [at the NFL game between the Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys].”
Parton, now 78, was seen in a cheerleader-inspired cowboy outfit with an abbreviated bikini crop top, denim shorts that stopped short of the mid-thigh, and stars bedazzling a cropped denim jacket.
“Dolly Parton’s ability to transcend almost every group – beloved by feminists, country music enthusiasts, people of all ages alike – has brought with it a feminisation of the trend with more body exposure, a freedom that did not exist in the traditional trend before,” Mears says.
On social media, another offshoot trend is emerging. Searches for the “Coastal Cowgirl” aesthetic on TikTok have soared, something that is described by Instyle magazine as “beachy coastal on top and cowgirl rugged from the knee down”. The trend is all nautical prints and patterns, feminine detailing like ruffles and ribbons, and rugged boots for contrast.
Beauty, too, isn’t left far behind, with “Cowboy Copper Hair” seeing a large boost in monthly searches on TikTok and other social media platforms, a relatively high volume compared to other hair colour trends, according to Yarden Horwitz, co-founder of consumer trend research company Spate.
Gucci? Louis Vuitton? You name it, Naples’ ‘Market of Fakes’ sells it
Gucci? Louis Vuitton? You name it, Naples’ ‘Market of Fakes’ sells it
How does a century-old trend capture the imagination of all ages and stand the test of time? Perhaps its tight-lasso hold comes down to the fact that it has been, since its inception, a globally patchworked phenomenon.
In the digital age, its allure across pop culture, beauty, fashion, luxury and travel means it will stay in the collective consciousness for many years to come.
In the meantime, we have celebrities like the Kardashian-Jenners and Bella Hadid (and new horse-riding boyfriends) to thank.
And, of course, Beyoncé. As she sings in “Levii’s Jeans”: “Denim on denim on denim on denim / Give you high fashion in a simple white tee / Give you these blues, it’s in my genes.”