Pop Stars to Rodeo Stars: Celebrities Love Western Fashion – Entertainment News

Pop culture is at the center of the Western revival in mainstream fashion.

While recent examples like Pharrell Williams envisioning French-born Louis Vuitton through an Americana lens and Beyoncé adhering to a strict western dress code since announcing her forthcoming country album have amplified the Western aesthetic and secured its grip on trendsetters for at least another season, the first rumblings of the trend began during the bleakest days of the pandemic.

Nonetheless, 32-time Grammy winner Queen Bey may have kindled the fire.

The visuals to Beyoncé’s “Black Is King” album in 2020 ushered in a wave of cow print and horse motifs. (The later would reappear three years later as “Reneigh,” the mirror ball horse beloved by fans that Beyoncé closed each night of the Renaissance Tour perched on.)

A year later, British pop star Dua Lipa saddled up for her music video for “Love Again.” Set in a fantastical rodeo hall, Lipa rode a mechanical bull while her backup dancers gyrated in bandana tops and souped-up pieces like jeans trimmed with LED lights and bottom-baring leather chaps. The same year, Beyoncé’s dropped the denim-focused Ivy Park Rodeo with Adidas. It was accompanied by a campaign that celebrated the history of Black cowboy and cowgirl culture—a story that Wrangler shared in 2019 and inspired Lee’s collaboration with Brooklyn Circus in 2022.

Then, in 2022, Oscar-winning director Jordan Peele’s debuted “Nope,” a sci-fi thriller set on a ranch. In the film, costume designer Alex Bovaird centered looks on accessible items like grungy jeans, soccer jerseys and cowboy boots—a mash-up of genres and styles that pervade fashion today.

Sales for cowboy boots and hats increased at this time as consumers sought novelty items that brought them a joyous break from loungewear. However, their popularity reached fever pitch in 2023, when cowboy boots and hats became essential “tourdrobe” items for attendees at Bey’s Renaissance Tour and Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour.

The accessories also got a pink makeover thanks to the cultural phenomenon “Barbie.” Margot Robbie, clad in a pink rodeo outfit as cowgirl Barbie, inspired countless 2023 Halloween costumes and was the inspiration behind Wrangler’s fastest-selling collaboration with Mattel.

All this to say Beyoncé’s official foray into country is not the first example of pop, R&B and rap artists finding inspiration from their country crooner counterparts. The evolving relationship between pop and country, streetwear and western wear is ongoing, resulting in global megastars with crossover appeal (i.e. Swift) and fashion that captures the attention of luxury shoppers and kids that aspire to it (i.e. Williams’ western fever dream).

Here, Rivet takes a look at some of the other memorable times genre-hopping artists borrowed from the West.

Madonna

From dressing like a geisha to channeling the 1940s style of Eva Perón, Madonna has gone through many fashion phases. In 2000, the queen of pop looked west for inspiration for her “Don’t Tell Me” music video. Filmed against a projection of a desert scene, Madonna wore low-rise men’s jeans by Dsquared2 and a Western shirt as dancers dressed as cowboys circled her. The rodeo look carried into Madonna’s subsequent Drowned World tour, during which she rode a mechanical bull in Dsquared2’s leather chaps.

Destiny’s Child

Beyoncé’s foray into country surprised many, but there have been clues ever since her days in Destiny’s Child. The Houston R&B girl group frequently wore Western-inspired costumes designed by Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles. In the 1999 video for “Bug a Boo,” Beyoncé sports a merlot cowboy hat and embellished jeans. The group continued to wear coordinating Southwest looks throughout the early 2000s, including purple fringe outfits accented with silver conchos, and coral and turquoise sets.  

Diplo

Born in Tupelo, Miss., country is part of Diplo’s roots. Though the DJ and music producer has built his career in EDM and pop, his style has stayed closer to home. In the video for “Lonely” with Jonas Brothers, Diplo rides horses, noshes on barbecue and strolls through a fairground in cowboy hats, kerchiefs, and dusty jeans. His style has become less humble cowboy and more urban cowboy, however. Diplo is known to rock rhinestone-covered Western shirts to award shows, mustard cowboy suits to music festivals and cowboy hats in GQ editorials.  

Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X’s genre-breaking hit “Old Town Road” with country crooner Billy Ray Cyrus was just the first to many Western looks worn by the rapper. The traditional outfit Lil Nas X wears at the beginning of the 2019 video evolves into bolder rhinestone and fringe-embellished coordinates. The song’s lyrics “Cowboy hat from Gucci, Wrangler on my booty” even inspired a limited-edition men’s and women’s capsule collection by Wrangler. Lil Nas X’s Western aesthetic peaked in 2020 when he wore a hot pink bondage-inspired cowboy suit by Versace.

Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus may be in her disco era, but the daughter of “Achy Breaky Heart” singer Billy Ray Cyrus and the goddaughter of Dolly Parton can’t escape her country DNA. In addition to introducing a new generation to the perils of “Jolene” with her cover of the 1973 Parton hit, Cyrus’ country twang and love for satin Western shirts and rhinestone-covered jumpsuits shine in the 2017 video for “Younger Now.”

Lady Gaga

The pink Gladys Tamez hat Lady Gaga wore on the cover of her album “Joanne” was a departure from the avant-garde costumes and makeup she typically wears. The felt velour hat reflected the album’s stripped-down Americana vibe, however. Gaga’s country look carried into the “Joanne” tour with costumes spanning leather fringe bodysuits to crystal-covered cowboy hats.