Popular culture often has the knack for taking an inanimate idea and melding it into an image, with the latest culprit being country. For a few seasons now, country has been glamourized and fitted for popular fashion like no other theme. From Louis Vuitton to Lana Del Rey, country has been the rage when it comes to style and fashion. However, the popularization of the theme has come with controversy to those who identify as “country.” Is “country” an identity and culture that can be appropriated even if the culture itself finds its roots in colonial ideas such as Manifest Destiny? There is something to be said regarding the appropriation of Native American themes and ideas within modernized takes on “Western” and “Country” styles.

Pharrell Williams, creative director of Louis Vuitton’s Menswear, debuted a country-inspired collection this January, further pushing the trend of country within pop culture. Elements such as western-embossed leather (see look 42), fringe (see look 1), embroidery (see look 76), and stylized cowboy boots and hats were implemented in the collection (among other elements). Furthermore, Pharrell used his collection to showcase Native American culture in collaboration with Dakota and Lakota nation artists. Rebecca Brady, a Native American from New Town, North Dakota, told the Associated Press: “Pharrell wanted to bring out the Native American spirit, (…) he wanted to showcase we’re still here, we’re still resilient.” Beyoncé would go on to sport look 80 to this year’s Grammys, a complete two-piece black leather and stud-checkered blazer set with a bolo tie and a classic white Stetson.

However, popular interpretations of country have only sometimes been well received: take Beyoncé as an example. “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” were No. 2 and 3, respectively, featured on Spotify’s Global Top 100. Furthermore, Beyoncé would be the first black woman to stake her claim at the top of Apple Music’s Country Chart. Yet, despite all of her dominant success, Beyoncé is nowhere to be found within popular country radio. According to Forbes, a radio station in Oklahoma responded with an explanation for refusing a song request for Beyoncé’s new records: "We are a country music station… We initially refused to play it in the same manner if someone requested us to play the Rolling Stones on our country station."

Although her singles are regarded as country by popular billboards, Beyoncé has not garnered the same amount of respect that would be expected of any other country artist. According to a series of interviews by The Guardian, some Houstonians can’t associate Beyoncé’s music with country as its writing lacks the country element of storytelling about the working class and writing that “speaks to the soul.”

Though country may be a trend in the current zeitgeist of popular culture and fashion, it is a culture and a lifestyle to many. Paying homage to Native American heritage and highlighting themes present in classic Americana are ways to uplift culture and the people who embrace it as their own. What’s so beautiful about country is that it represents so many ideas to so many different individuals who can interpret it differently and who can evolve what it means to be country. While Beyoncé is serving to glamourize and give a face-lift to country, it is her interpretation of her upbringing deep in the heart of Texas.

Written by Drew Martin, Photography: Nicole Hinojosa, Social Media: Sofia Mora

Country Glam