There are iconic elements of the rugged American cowboy look: Wrangler denim jeans, straw or felt hats, fringe jackets and durable leather boots.
There’s no denying what seems to be a resurgence of western style seen in micro fashion trends like “cowboycore.” Some attribute it to Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” era, a decline in democracy in the U.S. and country singers continuing to climb the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
A new exhibit at the Eiteljorg Museum, “Cowboy Couture: The Fashion of Jerry Lee Atwood,” is exploring this iconography. On media preview night, Atwood was not in attendance.
If you go
Cowboy Couture
🗓️ March 28-Aug. 2
📍 Eiteljorg Museum, 500 W. Washington St.
🎟️ $12-20; free for members, Native American tribes and college students and professors
🗓️ 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 18
🎟️ Tickets are $30-40, must register
A workshop led by Amber Gyselinck, designer and owner of Lapis Lily, will teach guests how to create their own bolo ties.
🗓️ 5-7 p.m. Friday, July 3
🎟️ Free
Featuring a Western-themed concert with performances from local band Indy Annies and line dancing.
The exhibit, which closes Aug. 2, centers Atwood’s designs and their connection to pop culture of the American West and classic country music looks.
His designs are distinct and recognizable. They recall the vibrant colors, sharp custom tailoring and intricate chain-stitch embroidery sported by country music performers of the 1960s and ’70s.
In 2013, Atwood founded Union Western Clothing Company. The self-taught, Indianapolis-based fashion designer works out of his studio on the north side.
The biggest stars have worn his suits, including Post Malone and Lil Nas X. He creates suits for any occasion: weddings, music videos and festivals and even for a neurologist in honor of his patients fighting ALS. He achieves embroidery designs with a vintage 1950s Singer embroidery machine which is on display in the gallery.
The exhibit has been a few years in the making, according to Bryn Foreman, associate curator of western art, history and culture. They said it was Elias Garza Garcia’s idea first. Foreman has been working on officially putting the exhibit together since their hiring in August 2025.
What’s behind the American Cowboy?
When you first walk into the exhibition, you’ll be able to explore the history of western wear.
Foreman said they had to cut the extensive research down into a digestible timeline. The timeline gives a brief overview of the influences of Indigenous mountain men, Spanish vaqueros and Mexican charros on American cowboy culture.
“Most cowboys were people of color, it was hard and dangerous work. Then, it was sort of Hollywood that began creating this myth of the Roy Rogers cowboy, the white movie star cowboy,” Foreman said.
The exhibit “The Fashion of Jerry Lee Atwood” will be on display at the Eiteljorg Museum through Aug. 2, 2026. The show, pictured during a preview March 27, displays custom-made, embroidered Western suits and explores the influence of classic Western wear in American pop culture. Credit: Stephanie Amador for Mirror Indy
In Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” music video, he rides on a horse through Compton and storms into an all-white “Old Town Hall” event — wearing one of Atwood’s designs. This symbolizes the discomfort that arises when discussing race and cowboy culture.
Foreman said Lil Nas X was “humorously calling attention to that history.”
The fashion exhibit keeps it simple and omits etymology. However, the origin of the word “cowboy” is debated by historians. Some say it is derived from the Spanish term “vaqueros” which means cowhand or cattle-herder in English. Others say it was created to demean formerly enslaved Black cowhands and a label used to separate them from white cowhands.
The timeline does mention the roles of cotton production and 20th century European immigrant western wear tailors like Nudie Cohn, Nathan Turk and Bernard “Rodeo Ben” Lichtenstein — who have inspired Atwood’s clothing.
Foreman said they acquired historical western wear pieces for the exhibit from Atwood and his business partner Joe David Walters and The Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles.
There’s more to the “Cowboy Couture” exhibit than suits. You’ll find a dress, onesie and embroidered face mask made by Atwood during the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can also try your hand at fashion design by creating a fashion concept board, making paper dolls and sketching your own western couture outfit.
A tracing table and fashion concept board invite guests to draw while exploring “The Fashion of Jerry Lee Atwood,” which is on display at the Eiteljorg Museum through Aug. 2, 2026.
Foreman said they’re unsure if Post Malone will stop by to see the exhibit while he’s in town this weekend to headline the March Madness Music Festival.
“We emailed his stylist, Catherine Hahn. We haven’t heard back,” they said. “Anyone who’s a fan of Post Malone’s outfits should come here to see the rest of them.”
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Mesgana Waiss covers arts and culture. Contact her at 317-667-2643 or mesgana.waiss@mirrorindy.org.
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