Western Core: Neo-Western Fashion Trends Are Dominant in Fashion Today
By Paige Shea
While the American frontier officially disappeared in 1912, the influence of its aesthetic and fashion has never been lost.
Many classic Western influences have found their way onto high fashion runways, synthesizing an all-American nostalgia with novel trends and experimental streetwear styles.
Cowboy boots, cowboy hats, fringe, belts with loud metal loops, flared denim, paisley patterns, long jean skirts, and denim-on-denim are examples of neo-Western-inspired trends that are still prevalent in today’s fashion.
Western fashion trends have also influenced high fashion. Isabel Marant’s Spring-Summer 2023 collection featured flowing paisley patterns and layers of fringe, resulting in a Western-inspired, prairie-like collection for warmer temperatures.
Stella McCartney’s Spring 2023 collection included numerous outfits with low-rise, baggy, ripped denim, and jeans with both denim and leather material, while Bottega Veneta’s Spring 2023 collection featured baggy denim, flannel shirts, long leather jackets and dresses, fringe, and bold, colorful patterns.
Other luxury brands such as Khaite, Saint Laurent, Etro, and Ulla Johnson have played into the Western fashion themes with items such as long, paisley dresses, cowboy and suede boots, rodeo-ready belts, and denim shirts.
Additionally, popular streetwear brands have capitalized off of neo-Western trends and aesthetics.
Cherry LA, a Los Angeles-based fashion company, recently released a collaboration with Yellowstone, a Paramount show that centers around the life of a family of ranchers. The Yellowstone X Cherry collection features bulky work jackets, earth-toned fleeces, suede snapbacks, baby tees, sweatshirts, ranch gloves, a zippo lighter, and deck of cards, all with either the Yellowstone “Y” or horseshoe emblem.
Wish Me Luck, another LA-based clothing brand, is popular for its clothing line that blends streetwear with Western influences. Wish Me Luck’s most popular items include trucker hats, unique denim with horse, star, and horseshoe prints, and leather bomber jackets with the same emblems.
While less novice than Cherry LA or Wish Me Luck, Free People has always been a gold mine for Western-inspired items, as the company focuses on boho-chic fashion as its main brand. Fringe, paisley, and a plethora of denim options are what Free People is known for and certainly swings frontier-boho chic.
Retailers are also recognizing the demand for Western influence trends. Revolve, a popular online clothing retailer, features a “Western Ways” edit under its “Featured Shops,” its curated collection tab. “Western Ways” features cowboy boots, hats, fringe everything, ponchos, and more.
So, why Western fashion?
While the American frontier no longer exists, the aesthetic of the timeless, earthy Wild West has never quite lost its touch. Paisley prints, fringe, denim, and cowboy boots have always been staples in many closets, and now streetwear.
Emily Ratajowski in Summer 2022 was seen in New York City wearing a paisley-print Miaou dress with black and white Sonora boots, throwing Western fashion into the limelight.
It is also important to note the impacts that BIPOC have had on Western fashion and culture. While Black cowboys are not the mainstream image of the frontier, historians have estimated that one in four cowboys in the American West were Black, as being a cowboy post-Civil War was one of the few jobs open to men of color that were not service jobs.
Black cowboys still faced discrimination in the towns that they passed through, but within their crews of cowboys, they found levels of mutual respect that were unseen at the time.
Another reason that Western-inspired fashion is so popular is that it is easy to mix with trends, namely the Y2K fashion and nostalgia that is so popular right now, making it easy to synthesize with streetwear and aspects of current fashion trends.
Y2K is another example of fashion that was heavily influenced by Black culture and prominent Black figures in pop culture. Figures such as Missy Elliot, Janet Jackson, and groups such as Destiny’s Child popularized the Y2K staples: low waisted jeans, athletic suits, and futuristic, metallic fashion.
While it has certainly been a classic influence on fashion for decades past the Wild West, frontier chic is certainly here to stay in the 2020s.
Many classic Western influences have found their way onto high fashion runways, synthesizing an all-American nostalgia with novel trends and experimental streetwear styles.
Cowboy boots, cowboy hats, fringe, belts with loud metal loops, flared denim, paisley patterns, long jean skirts, and denim-on-denim are examples of neo-Western-inspired trends that are still prevalent in today’s fashion.
Western fashion trends have also influenced high fashion. Isabel Marant’s Spring-Summer 2023 collection featured flowing paisley patterns and layers of fringe, resulting in a Western-inspired, prairie-like collection for warmer temperatures.
Stella McCartney’s Spring 2023 collection included numerous outfits with low-rise, baggy, ripped denim, and jeans with both denim and leather material, while Bottega Veneta’s Spring 2023 collection featured baggy denim, flannel shirts, long leather jackets and dresses, fringe, and bold, colorful patterns.
Other luxury brands such as Khaite, Saint Laurent, Etro, and Ulla Johnson have played into the Western fashion themes with items such as long, paisley dresses, cowboy and suede boots, rodeo-ready belts, and denim shirts.
Additionally, popular streetwear brands have capitalized off of neo-Western trends and aesthetics.
Cherry LA, a Los Angeles-based fashion company, recently released a collaboration with Yellowstone, a Paramount show that centers around the life of a family of ranchers. The Yellowstone X Cherry collection features bulky work jackets, earth-toned fleeces, suede snapbacks, baby tees, sweatshirts, ranch gloves, a zippo lighter, and deck of cards, all with either the Yellowstone “Y” or horseshoe emblem.
Wish Me Luck, another LA-based clothing brand, is popular for its clothing line that blends streetwear with Western influences. Wish Me Luck’s most popular items include trucker hats, unique denim with horse, star, and horseshoe prints, and leather bomber jackets with the same emblems.
While less novice than Cherry LA or Wish Me Luck, Free People has always been a gold mine for Western-inspired items, as the company focuses on boho-chic fashion as its main brand. Fringe, paisley, and a plethora of denim options are what Free People is known for and certainly swings frontier-boho chic.
Retailers are also recognizing the demand for Western influence trends. Revolve, a popular online clothing retailer, features a “Western Ways” edit under its “Featured Shops,” its curated collection tab. “Western Ways” features cowboy boots, hats, fringe everything, ponchos, and more.
So, why Western fashion?
While the American frontier no longer exists, the aesthetic of the timeless, earthy Wild West has never quite lost its touch. Paisley prints, fringe, denim, and cowboy boots have always been staples in many closets, and now streetwear.
Emily Ratajowski in Summer 2022 was seen in New York City wearing a paisley-print Miaou dress with black and white Sonora boots, throwing Western fashion into the limelight.
It is also important to note the impacts that BIPOC have had on Western fashion and culture. While Black cowboys are not the mainstream image of the frontier, historians have estimated that one in four cowboys in the American West were Black, as being a cowboy post-Civil War was one of the few jobs open to men of color that were not service jobs.
Black cowboys still faced discrimination in the towns that they passed through, but within their crews of cowboys, they found levels of mutual respect that were unseen at the time.
Another reason that Western-inspired fashion is so popular is that it is easy to mix with trends, namely the Y2K fashion and nostalgia that is so popular right now, making it easy to synthesize with streetwear and aspects of current fashion trends.
Y2K is another example of fashion that was heavily influenced by Black culture and prominent Black figures in pop culture. Figures such as Missy Elliot, Janet Jackson, and groups such as Destiny’s Child popularized the Y2K staples: low waisted jeans, athletic suits, and futuristic, metallic fashion.
While it has certainly been a classic influence on fashion for decades past the Wild West, frontier chic is certainly here to stay in the 2020s.