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Largely thanks to Beyoncé, Western-inspired fashion is trending again.
The singer and recent hair-care founder has never shied away from her Texas roots, often making nods to Western fashion throughout her career. This year, however, the A-lister kicked the Cowboy look into overdrive after a surprise two-single drop during her Super Bowl ad commercial. The country music songs, “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold Em’,” sent fans into a frenzy, and her accompanying Super Bowl outfit added the cherry on top.
In an all-Black Western-inspired look that included a bolo tie and classic Cowboy hat, Beyoncé broke the internet on February 11. Her Instagram post featuring the Western getup currently has over 3.15 million likes. In a report from fashion company Boohoo, immediately following her Super Bowl ad, Google searches for “cowboy hat” were up 212.5%. A few days later, she was spotted on a Valentine’s Day date night with Jay-Z and at Luar’s fall 2024 fashion show wearing very similar looks, signaling a new era for the fashion icon: cowboycore. As a result, searches for cowboy fashion have soared.
According to BNPL company Klarna, cowboy boots have seen a 23% year-over-year increase in purchases via the platform. Cowboy hats, Beyoncé’s new signature accessory, have seen a 69% increase in purchases in the past year. And more specifically, rhinestone cowboy hats experienced a surge, with a 331% increase in purchases since last summer.
A rhinestone cowboy hat went viral in early February 2023 when Beyoncé donned the flashy piece in her album art and tour dates announcement for “Renaissance.” Fans then discovered the Etsy shop behind the piece and flooded it with sales, turning the seller and designer Abby Misbin’s side hustle into a full-time job, according to Misbin. Now, with the “Renaissance Pt. II” album set to drop in March, fans are once again running to classic American brands and trendy retailers to achieve the ultimate cowboycore aesthetic.
Cowboy trends have been on the rise in the past year, with major brands like Louis Vuitton and Molly Goddard experimenting with Western-inspired looks in their respective fall 2024 collections. And Beyoncé’s country renaissance has no doubt played a part in the aesthetic’s revival, too. Her recent looks have led to viral TikTok videos, and her cultural impact has helped brands capitalize on the moment.
For 159-year-old American apparel company Stetson, in particular, the growing aesthetic has brought in a new wave of consumers and demand. The brand has sold out multiple styles of its classic Stetson Cowboy hat this month, according to Tyler Thoreson, vp of marketing at Stetson. And Beyoncé happens to be a fan. The brand also worked with the costume designers for “Barbie” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” to outfit both casts.
“We’re honored to have Beyoncé as the latest in a long line of trailblazers to make our hats a key part of their look,” Thoreson told Glossy. “We’ve seen incredible interest in our brand and our products across the social media landscape since the Grammys. And we’ve seen a spike in interest in the Shasta, the style she’s been wearing most the past couple weeks, including at the Grammys. … Beyoncé has taken things to a whole new level.”
Though the company declined to share numbers around sales or traffic, Thoreson revealed that Beyoncé has worn a Stetson hat during her last four major outings: the Grammys, the Super Bowl, the Luar’s fashion show and her Valentine’s Day date — all of which she also posted about on Instagram.
“Beyoncé wearing our hats presents an incredible opportunity to tell our story on a wider scale, and that’s what we’re focused on. Well, that and working overtime to keep up with demand. It’s been tough to keep our signature Western hats in stock,” Thoreson said.
