Beyonce’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ lights a campfire under growing western fashion trend — cowboy hats poised to be summer’s hottest accessory

Put away that ball cap and buy yourself a Stetson this summer.

Cowboy hats are anticipated to be the hottest accessory for warmer weather months — that’s after Beyonce dropped “Cowboy Carter” on Friday, which quickly became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day this year.

The gone-country R&B idol joins an already ten-gallon trend in progress, thanks to the fuchsia lids worn so prominently in last summer’s “Barbie” blockbuster, not to mention the rise of western-inspired designs on runways like the men’s fall/winter 2024 line from Louis Vuitton or Schiaparelli’s haute couture collection.

Trendalytics data obtained by Fashionista shows a 400% increase in interest for cowboy hats compared to a year ago, while Klarna reported that purchases for “rhinestone cowboy hats” have soared by 331%.

And while the new obsession with western style may have begun long before Beyonce, 42, released her highly-anticipated country album, it definitely has made the look impossible to ignore.

The “coastal cowgirl” aesthetic, marked by cowboy boots and linen garments, trended last summer as the stylish riding boots became a wardrobe staple for many fashionistas.

Then, the Houston-born “Texas Hold ‘Em” crooner sat front-row at the Luar show at New York Fashion Week donning an alabaster wide-brim hat.

And, when Queen Bey announced “Cowboy Carter” during the Super Bowl, Google searches for “cowboy hat” surged more than 212% worldwide, clothing retailer Boohoo reported to Footwear News.

Now, it’s boots, bolos and belts, oh my — as devout members of the Beyhive usher in “cowgirl couture.”

Amid news of Lana Del Rey’s upcoming country album, A-listers spotted in western-style apparel and artists such as Post Malone and Miley Cyrus featured on “Cowboy Carter,” the seeds are sown for a western revival — well beyond the hats.

Searches for “cowboy boots” and “bolo tie” have skyrocketed by 163% and 566% respectively, according to Boohoo, as TikTokers have boasted Bey-inspired western attire in their wardrobes mere months after retiring their chrome, brimmed hats worn to the singer’s Renaissance tour.

But country couture is no passing fad, insists Isha Nicole, the creative director and senior vice president of marketing for the western wear company Boot Barn.

She told Women’s Wear Daily that, while Beyonce’s music will “catapult Western influence into the limelight,” the American cowboy is a part of “our shared history” and “has left a global imprint.”

“Western is not a trend,” Nicole said, adding that she predicts a rise in traditional cowboy hats in red or white. “Western is an iconic American culture.”