A Fashion Rodeo: The Modern Cowboy

Nov 19

Nov 19 A Fashion Rodeo: The Modern Cowboy

We are in a new era of fashion—one that merges the traditional Western aesthetic with modern craftsmanship, bringing the ranch-cowboy to the urban streets. We’ve already seen this in the Fall/Winter 2018 collection of Chloé, where the rancher hat that seems to come straight out of a Sergio Leone film is made the new accessory of the bourgeois boheme. Or in Ganni’s mid-calf cowboy boots, featuring a contrasting winged design with decorative stitching and narrow square toes. Saint Laurent adds a Parisian flavor to the traditional design with the harness-style straps, long pointed toes, and grooved heels. Maison Margiela adorns the brown Bovine leather with classic pull tabs at the sides and decorative stitching, modernizing the silhouette of this new item of luxury and lifestyle.

**Yves Saint Laurent, Western Harness Boots**

**Maison Margiela, Sendra Ankle Boots.**

We do not have to see a Wim Wenders film to reimagine the West anymore. Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Isabel Marant are bringing it to life during fashion week where the eccentric fringe jacket gallops down the catwalk and Texas-style boots stomp around in all their “yeehaw” glory. The growing influence of the Western aesthetic infuses the conventional with the high-fashion, giving the boots a new sense of individuality, iconizing walking with the distinct sound of stacked heels. The West is still alive and trending, and it is now represented by a renaissance of the cowboy in fashion. The counterculture movement of the late 1960s, as seen in Hopper’s cult classic Easy Rider, is back, but with its ideology very much diminished. Cowboy boots have now become a status symbol, a mark of taste and aesthetics, embellishing the street style with a touch of nostalgia.

**Khaite, The Dallas Ankle Boot in Gold Leather.**

You may be wondering how to incorporate this unique aesthetic to your individual fashion style, but worry not, the cowboy booties will tailor your outfit and make their connotations irrelevant. Try styling the pointed-toe ankle Harness boots with grey Zadig & Voltaire menswear pants, white oversized poplin shirt, and a gold small finger ring—your regular look will now be a statement. The high shaft of the Saint Laurent will change your loose-fitting trousers’ silhouette. And as for wearing the long Ganni Texas-styles over the top, you may have trouble going incognito in them. If you desire the shape of the cowboy boots coming off your trouser legs, more like the classic Chelsea boots, opt for flared leg corduroy trousers and hide it underneath. There is a delicate balance in styling these designs with a modern-spin. One wrong choice can spoil the look, turning it into a costume-y, flashy imitation.

Some of the best outfits of the fashion rodeo: