I have written a lot about a trend I called Country Retro Futurism. Some are calling it Cowboy Core...
Waaaay back in 2022, I hypothesized that as global chaos continued to rise and people grew increasingly weary of hyper-filtered, fake social media content, they would seek authenticity/simpler times, triggering a COUNTRY WESTERN TREND. [READ THE FULL REPORT HERE]
Since then, the trend has continued. Pharrell did his little cowboy thing with Louis Vuitton, and Lana Del Rey released her version of Take Me Home, Country Roads (it was good; Lana can never do wrong!).
Fast-forward six months, and we have officially reached the peak of Country Retro Futurism and are now in the next phase of this trend—THE RAPID NORMIE DESCENT!
Beyonce is making a country album, and Bella Hadid is cosplaying at rodeos. What seems like inconsequential acts by celebrities are ACTUALLY the beginning of the descent and will have a ripple effect across our culture, triggering a type of cringe that will be difficult to witness.
Stay tuned as we watch artists, brands, friends, and family try to do country. It's gonna get dark. In the coming months, you will see people who you have NEVER seen in a cowboy hat suddenly and without reason begin wearing them. But it won't stop there. Of course, there will be cowboy boots, but there will also be far more adventurous things, like men wearing bolo ties and women from the northwest trying to say y'all naturally. You are gonna see a lot more denim on denim (which we love), but with a misguided Western twist that makes you think, "No" and also, "Stop." Ladies will begin trading in their Sambas for worn-in Carhartts (this trend could result in Carhartt selling pre-worn Carhartts because a lot of those Golden Goose ladies are gonna want a Carhartt jacket that already looks worn-in).
It's gonna get worse before it gets better. WHAT TO EXPECT:
🤠Taylor Swift definitely does another country album
🤠Post Malone collaborates with Zac Brown band
🤠Florida Georgia Line does another song with Nelly (Nelly was finally recognized for his cross-over brilliance – Nelly and Tim McGraw crawled so Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus ride their horse)
🤠This wedding season is about to be packed full really BAAAAAD country songs
🤠Celebrities begin opening bad country western bars
🤠Cowboy hats replacing LA Dodgers and New York Yankees hats (lots of cowboy hats at farmer markets this spring)
STAY SAFE OUT THERE!