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It's no secret that country music is enjoying a purple patch. Ella Langley just set the record for the longest-running No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, pop tastemakers like Beyoncé, Lana Del Rey and Post Malone have all ventured into Nashville, while artists like Zach Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs continue to be some of the few artists able to sell out stadiums around North America.
While there are a spectrum of elements that have come together to facilitate this explosion in popularity, it's hard to look past the monumental impact of Wallen, in particular, in bringing the genre to new fans over the past five years or so. But if the genre is to emulate Hip-Hop's lengthy, culture-defining spell as the biggest genre in North America during the 2010's, you can't help but feel Wallen has a blind spot.
Fashion.
And that's not to say Wallen isn't fashionable - quite the contrary. In the early years of his career, the Sneedville native's mullet, his cut-off flannel shirt and his playfully dangling cross-earring became his signature look. And he was conscious of this, often admitting in interviews that he'd been told about the importance of building a trademark silhouette, in order to make yourself instantly recognisable.
Even now, in 2026, although his look is quite different from those rowdy early days, the ‘Last Night’ chart-topper still has a distinctive Southern streetwear and sports-influenced aesthetic, with his stylist, Amy Georgulis, always putting together sleek looks.
But now that Wallen has spent a couple of years settling into his status as a globally renowned music star, it feels like a more concrete fashion partnership is long overdue.
At the moment, most of Wallen's clothing endeavours are merch-related, with the country titan possessing an expansive online store and regularly donning his Field & Stream caps.
Yet, if country music is to dominate the culture for at least a decade - and maybe longer - in the way that Hip-Hop has been doing since the late 2000’s, the genre's flag-bearers needs to broaden their influence. At the moment, the blueprint is to secure some major hits, and then - in the case of Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson - ink deals with brands like American Eagle and Wrangler to showcase new collections.
But what about innovating their own lines and sub-labels. While Hip-Hop has been at the height of its powers, all of its biggest artists have been diversifying their portfolios and starting their own clothing ranges. Drake has October's Very Own and Nocta with Nike. Travis Scott has Cactus Jack and his game-changing Nike Jordan sneakers. Ye (formerly Kanye West) has Yeezy. Beyoncé had Ivy Park with Adidas. Tyler, The Creator has Golf Wang. Pharrell Williams has Billionaire Boys Club, Humanrace and is now the Men’s Creative Director of Louis Vuitton. Beyond clothing, Rihanna has Fenty Beauty and Beyoncé has Cécred haircare.
And this highlights how it isn't just about clothing specifically. Hip-Hop's trailblazers have done a fantastic job of building an ecosystem involving clothing, design, sneakers, lifestyle and beyond, which has in turn helped to shape modern US culture.
While Hip-Hop is still the biggest genre in the US, country's explosion in popularity is unmatched, with country streams growing a staggering 768% from 14.1 billion in 2015 to 122.5 billion in 2025. Similarly, the genre's share of songs on the Billboard Hot 100 has risen from 6% in 1975 to 34% today, courtesy of hitmakers like Wallen, Langley and Bryan. Crucially, country music has been shown to be rapidly growing in popularity among younger Millennial and Gen-Z listeners.
Country music needs to use Hip-Hop as a model, because by extending your influence into the fashion world, you reach consumers that aren't necessarily part of your listenership.
Especially for Wallen, who is tremendously popular among country fans in the UK and Europe, but not necessarily as established with the mainstream crowd, entering the fashion world more intentionally could help to solidify his standing and impact overseas.
And this doesn't mean Wallen should start dressing in eccentric outfits and attending Paris fashion shows. In fact, it would arguably be crucial that he doesn't do this.
He already has an established style, and if he was to team up with a brand like Nike or Adidas for a sneaker or clothing capsule, fans would expect it to reflect his own existing tastes. Lil Durk, Wallen's ‘Broadway Girls’ collaborator, famously remarked back in 2023, “We live in two totally different worlds. He’ll tell me, ‘Let’s go hunting, let’s go fishing.’ He’s opened my mind to a different view of life. I’m telling him about clothes, all about the sauce. But he doesn’t care much about fashion”.
But paradoxically, this could be Wallen's USP: fashion for people who don't really care about fashion, but still want to look cool. Regardless of the specifics, it feels like we need some kind of OVO, Yeezy or Cactus Jack-style innovation from within country that pushes beyond the basic, ready-made promotional partnerships.
Otherwise, it feels like country music's popularity will just be a passing trend, and when people get bored of seeing cowboy-hat candles in TJ Maxx, rodeo-themed t-shirts in Abercrombie & Fitch and double-denim on every second mannequin in Hollister, they'll move onto something else. Because if artists stick to these age-old tropes of the genre fashion-wise, rather than experimenting with something fresh and new, then surely country will be fenced off as cosplay.
Post Malone is showing Wallen the way through his Western-wear label, Austin Post Apparel, which sees Carhartt and Wrangler-inspired pieces restitched and reframed as designer. Similarly, Megan Moroney showcased her eye for innovation and diversification through her Boys Lie capsule, which felt like an organic collaboration. These need to be the first domino block in a string of artist-driven - or even artist-owned - fashion ventures from Wallen, Langley, Wilson and more.
Langley and Wilson are already laying the foundation for this through their respective collaborations with American Eagle and Wrangler, with both artists concretising their unique styles, so when the time comes to launch their own ranges, it'll feel natural.
In this writer's mind, Wallen needs to follow suit and go beyond his current merchandise-oriented approach. He's the only country artist so far on the new Grand Theft Auto VI soundtrack, for crying out loud, so he's already puncturing mainstream culture.
If Wallen, country music's modern-day king, doesn't at least dip his toes into this world of clothing and fashion, it will be a missed opportunity. Not only for himself, but for the genre as a whole - and it could even be the mistake that loses him his crown.
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