Rhinestones, cowboy hats and a whole lot of denim; not a hen party entourage, a Glastonbury fit or a Nashville rodeo, but the queues outside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this week, as Beyoncé kicked off her UK tour. And, seemingly, a new national dress code.
Since the release of the Cowboy Carter album, Beyoncé fans have been quick to adopt the rancher style, sparking a surge in interest for western-inspired fashion. On Vinted, searches for “western” are up by 16% year on year this month, with “rodeo” up 13%. Meanwhile, denim searches have risen 8%.
At PrettyLittleThing, searches for “cowboy jackets” surged by more than 600% in May, and demand for cowboy hats and boots increased by 85% and 53% respectively.
Beyoncé’s influence on fashion and buying habits is a reminder of how pop culture continues to shape consumer behaviour, said Candace Baldassarre, a senior analyst at market research firm Mintel.
“Western aesthetics are experiencing a revival in fashion. This trend has been highlighted by high-profile cultural moments, such as Beyoncé’s embrace of western style, notably her ‘Canadian tuxedo’ [double denim] and her song Levii’s Jeans.
“The impact of such celebrity influence has prompted brands like Levi’s to be playful and responsive on social media, even temporarily changing their name and logo to match Beyoncé’s stylisation.”
In the week after the album dropped in 2024, Levi Strauss & Co reported a 20% increase in footfall at its US stores, alongside a 20% rise in its share price. Meanwhile, searches for “women’s Levi’s jeans” on the John Lewis website in the UK have jumped by 263% in the same period.
Levi’s later launched a campaign with Beyoncé, including baby tees with the artist’s stylised double “ii” on the brand logo.
However, the renewed interest in western style is about more than nostalgia, according to Dr Elizabeth Kealy-Morris, a senior lecturer in dress and belonging at Manchester Metropolitan University. It reflects a reclaiming of narratives that have often been sidelined or erased from mainstream cultural memory.
“The western genre, in literature, film and television enshrined the white cowboy as the symbol of national identity, masculinity, and resilience,” she said, though these were “manufactured artefacts” rather than historical truths.
Despite also living and working in the old west, Black cowboys were “vastly underrepresented and later erased from popular culture”, Kealy-Morris said. “[Beyoncé’s] stylised, contemporary cowboy costumes, worn on a stage filled with Black performers, are a direct confrontation with [this] history.”
The western trend in the UK reflects the globalisation of popular culture through social media, but it may not last long, Kealy-Morris said. “From my perspective, there aren’t enough nostalgic reasons or cultural signifiers in the western wear trend to make a lasting impact.”
While musicians do influence fashion trends, their impact is limited compared with friends and social media personalities. “Musicians have a notable, though not dominant, influence on fashion, particularly among younger consumers,” said Tamara Sender Ceron, an associate director of fashion retail research at Mintel, but peers and online figures remained the main sources of style inspiration for gen Z and younger millennials.
