It will happen soon. In the shop windows, dolls will wear cowboy hats on their hollow heads, fashion spreads full of fringes and denim looks will appear under the expected headline “Go West!”. Influencers are calling for dry rodeo challenges on Tiktok and Instagram. And fashion-conscious people in the European north or in the very unwild West also ask themselves whether they should join in now. Want to play cowboy or cowgirl? Just like Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian and Pharrell Williams just did? Just let the lasso get away with you?
A few counter questions: Are you a pop star and currently have a country record to promote, like Madonna in 2000, Lil Nas X a good five years ago or Beyoncé with her next album “Act II”? Are you part of a species of plastic dolls that constantly needs to bring new versions of themselves to market? That’s the only reason why Cowboy Barbie and Cowboy Ken appeared in this pink blockbuster, making it one of the most common carnival costumes in 2024. Or do you have a contract with a designer label, which means you have to blatantly support the Western number like all the influencers out there?
Anyone who doesn’t answer at least one of these points with a clear yes should quickly forget about their Western ambitions. In terms of fashion, the Wild West has become so worn out that it is somewhat surprising how persistently it is unpacked again and again.
In fashion, the cowboy hat is a kind of challenge trophy
For the latest cowherd, Pharrell Williams, who showed a luxury bonanza for Louis Vuitton in January, the trend has now been reversed: Here, an American is putting the Western stamp on a French brand. However, so one-to-one, without irony or breaks, that apart from the cowboy hats with the LV monogram and the leather chaps over the jeans, the only thing missing from the catwalk were a few cattle with LV branding.
After all, as with Beyoncé’s cowboy phase, the so-called Yee Haw agenda resonates here, rebelling against the stereotypical, purely white historiography in the West. The white people completely appropriated the theme, although of course there were black cowboys, just as black people helped shape country music. Where does Beyoncé come from again? That’s right, from Texas. How fitting that their current song “Texas hold ’em” is a wild masterpiece.
In fashion, the cowboy hat is a kind of challenge trophy. At some point, when you can’t think of anything better, or when you start to long for the old, glorious West in view of the miserable state of the world in general and the USA in particular, some designer just puts it on you.
The mother of all modern cowgirls, Madonna, released the song “Don’t Tell Me” in 2000 with clear country influences, which pop music had until then avoided like cow dung. The song became a hit, as did the entire album “Music”, on the cover of which the singer posed in a cowboy hat and western shirt. The fashion and the accompanying video are still influential today. Jeans outfits with muddy trouser legs, low-slung studded belts with massive buckles, a cropped leather shirt – that looked fresh, modern, sexy. Since then, there have been millions of fans who won’t go to a Madonna concert without a cowboy hat, which is of course absolutely fine in this arena. Because then it is a quote or a homage, in any case: a costume.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
