the yeehaw agenda: is western “In’ for 2024?
By Alexandra Ennabi
2 / 25 / 2024
The cowboy has been a long time symbol of American culture and identity. Western inspiration has long permeated Hollywood and fashion. However, it is an aesthetic that has been often white washed. This uniformity has recently been challenged by a new generation of Black artists in fashion, film, and music. The Yeehaw Agenda aims to correct this narrative and reassert visibility, and Pharell Williams and Beyonce are leading the charge.
Back in January Pharell, new men’s creative director, kicked off Paris Fashion Week with Louis Vuitton Men’s FW24 Collection that showcased an American Western theme. The clothes played on ranch wear and traditional American tropes with a high end spin. Models wore silk yoked shirts, denim chaps, and nearly every model wore some iteration of a cowboy hat from leather to soft suede. To top it off was a collab with footwear brand Timberland with their classic boot getting the Louis Vuitton treatment with subtle monogram stamping.
The collection also collaborated with Native American artists from the Dakota and Lakota Nations to make accessories such as blankets that featured parfleche motifs and Speedy bags with hand-painted desert flowers. Pharrell said he wanted to “appreciate” not “appropriate”, emphasizing the importance of getting rid of the image of the stereotypical cowboy. “They looked like us. They looked like me. They were Black and they were Native American.” Williams said backstage after the show. There were even more practical pieces such as rodeo-ready denim jeans and matching button-down shirts that will appeal to the masses and, no doubt, be copied by high street brands. Beyonce even wore a variation of the closing look from the menswear collection: a cowboy hat, an oversized black leather jacket, a white button up, and a skirt belted with an LV monogram buckle.
Beyonce announced her next album at Super Bowl, releasing two new songs, hinting at a country album. Her last album Renaissance included a nod to country style but now Beyonce has gone full country aesthetic with her wardrobe. She also sported an extremely Texan look at the 58th Super Bowl with a custom Dolce & Gabbana minidress with thigh high boots, a turquoise bolo tie, and teased hair. Beyonce has received some backlash from critics saying her and her music isn’t “country” and questioning her authenticity in the genre, even though Beyonce is originally from Houston and country music is very much rooted in Black culture and history. Beyonce and Pharrell are sparking an important global conversation on what it means to be country. They are showcasing a new modern take on country which is more representative of American identity.
I’m curious to see what all this new country music and Western inspired runway shows will mean for the fashion world. Will we see an increase in Western inspired streetwear? I’ve never been a country fan but if anyone were going to get me to dress country-chic, it would be Beyonce.