Hot Takes #17: 2024 Is The Year Of The Cowboy
Cowboy fashion is being given a dose of main character energy treatment
Cowboy fashion is galloping into the limelight. In a world full of trends, a little Wild West flair is being embraced as fashions love for the American West ramps up and the visual codes of country music experience a revamp.
Hot Takes is my bullet point thoughts on fashion's hottest issues. These posts get to the heart of why people are talking about what they’re talking about, what this means and where this could go next.
Think: what direction is fashion heading in? What’s new, innovative and exciting? What's going on in fashion that's really pissing people off?
Hot Takes ties fashion topics to a wider cultural and social context, digging into the often more significant meaning behind things.
So sit back, relax and let's get into it. Here’s Hot Takes #17.
Let’s set the scene.
In the United States, country music has long been hailed as “the people's music”. And by people, that means middle America.
Country music fashion and style have a certain look and feel about them that's recognisable globally.
Think: cowboy boots and hats, sometimes bedazzled sometimes not, fringed leather jackets, western shirts, elaborate belt buckles and Wrangler jeans.
It's old-school Dolly Parton and Billy Ray Cyrus. And it's a time-worn image which has remained relatively unchanged.
But this image is going to shift if 2024 has anything to do with it.
Beyoncé has unveiled plans for a country album. Lana Del Rey and Kacey Musgraves are getting in on the act. Post Malone is taking a country detour alongside Luke Combs. And Coi Leray has expressed interest in collaborating with country stars.
As musicians inside and outside of the genre jump on the country music bandwagon, it's set to be a year of cowboy fashion like never before.
Fashion's affinity with the American West
I remember thinking we've reached peak fashion cowboy after Thom Browne's SS23 show and anyone who's seen the viral video knows the one I'm talking about.
It's the one where a model trotted down the runway, yes trotted I kid you not, in denim ass-less chaps, a denim cropped vest, a denim cowboy hat and boots. It was a sight to be seen.
Cowboy core is having a moment once again as it enters the mainstream, not that it ever went anywhere in the first place.
From the days of Western movies to TV series like Yellowstone and cowboy hats and boots which are the basis of country music videos, the cowboy vibe is quintessential Americana.
And it's a look that comes back into favour again and again.
The 2020's version of all things American West looks a little like Coastal Cowgirl, the aesthetic of summer 2023 thanks to the trend machine that is TikTok.
So while cowboy fashion may have started out a little more practical, the nature of social media and cyclical fashion cycles continue to update and reinvent fashion's love for all things Americana.
The semiotics of country music
Over the past couple of years, there has been a notable shift in cowboy style moving it away from just having a main stage presence to it becoming a staple in many people's wardrobes.
It's less kitsch and eccentric now, and more of an identity communicator and visual signal.
Country music carries a broad appeal rooted deeply in its symbolic language which attracts musicians within and beyond the genre.
And as the country music scene evolves to include a more diverse range of artists and fans, the sartorial style and fashion cues are bound to evolve with it.
It's a certain type of politics rooted in a particular image.
Studies suggest that a significant portion of cowboys, about one in four, were Black. And according to experts, being a cowboy emerged as one of the most favourable employment opportunities for Black men post Civil-War.
This is an often overlooked narrative that the Yeehaw Agenda seeks to highlight, propelling cowboy semiotics into new territory as the Black cowboy moment is championed by IG pages and artists like Lil Nas X.
My two cents.
Apparently, country music is one of the fastest-growing musical genres in my home of Great Britain. Who knew?
This just goes to show that cowboy core and attire are moving far beyond their American roots.
During Raf Simon's short but sweet stint as Head Creative Officer at Calvin Klein, the brand's luxury line, 205W39NYC, witnessed the widespread adoption of Western-style boots and shirts.
Fashion houses like Khaite, Isabel Marant, and Saint Laurent consistently incorporate Western-inspired designs into their collections.
In 2021, Olivier Rousteing offered his interpretation of fashion inspired by classic American Western films, reimagining the style in a collaboration with Netflix's The Harder They Fall, an action-packed film centred around Black cowboys.
And celebrities like A$AP Rocky continue to don cowboy attire, Cowboy P takes over Paris, and Kendrick Lamar has been spotted wearing Louis Vuitton cowboy boots. Which I'm not jealous of... at all.
As cowboy core firmly cements itself in the pop culture scene and goes global, 2024 will be the year where this fashion moment takes centre stage and digs a little deeper.
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