Yee-haw! Rodeo-ready boots, tan-hide, and denim on denim on denim on denim, Western wear is undeniably having a moment in fashion and Beyoncé‘s industry-shifting and record-setting country album, Cowboy Carter, has only propelled this trend.

On the heels of Pharell’s Louis Vuitton’s Fall-Winter 2024 cowboy-centric show, it seems the entire world of fashion is racing to embrace the roots of Western and Southern rodeo attire. From fashion house runways to the pages of Vogue, all eyes seem to be pointed west. Well, at least as far as our current style zeitgeist is concerned. But if the media reactions and gleeful cries of praise from social media aren’t enough, the numbers also don’t lie.

The week after Cowboy Carter‘s highly anticipated release, Levi noted a 20% increase in its share price, likely thanks to Queen Bey’s “Levii’s Jeans” with Post Malone. While this is the most concerted effort we’ve seen from Beyoncé as it relates to country music (thank you, CMAs) and its accompanying aesthetic, she is a Texas girl through and through and has incorporated western and country wear into her wardrobe numerous times throughout her 21-year reign of cultural dominance.

But beyond the Beyoncé of it all, this homage has done something unignorable and uniquely special for Black faces and figures in country music and Western fashion. After the release of Cowboy Carter and the accompanying editorial shoots, we’ve been offered the opportunity to appreciate the rich contributions of Black creatives who have been dressing and upholding this space long before any of us knew what “Sweet Honey Buckin'” even meant.

The truest testament to Beyonce’s creativity is the pathway it creates for others to shine and display their labors’ fruits in unthinkable manners. It’s bigger than the music and the clothes. It’s a cultural expansion that has only just begun.