Cow Print Was the Most Unexpected Trend at New York Fashion Week—And I Can’t Stop Thinking About It

There are some prints that, when they start spiking in popularity, don’t feel like trends at all. Leopard print is a near-neutral at this point. Snakeskin is a favorite, no matter the season. Even zebra print had its time in the sun this summer. Cow print, however, is the one fall trend I didn’t see coming—and it’s the only one I’ve been able to think about now that New York Fashion Week has come to a close.

It all started when I saw the bovine pattern on Brandon Maxwell's Spring 2025 runway on September 9. Until then, it was a look reserved for the decor in my in-laws’ rural Colorado cabin. On the New York runway, it was fashioned into a chic, cropped jacket that was elegantly styled over a sequined plaid pencil skirt. Then, I noticed that the street style set was opting for cowhide-printed shoes and bags with the rest of their early-fall outfits.

I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. The Wild West’s grip on fashion hasn’t loosened since the days that luxury fashion reclaimed the cowboy boot. Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album and the subsequent stadium tour brought Western vibes to every part of the globe, including fashionable cities like Paris. Controversial bolo ties were back on the runways this week, too, both at Maxwell and elsewhere. The longline accessory feels like the logical next step to the pendant and cord necklaces we’d seen all summer.

If Horse Girl Fall is happening, it’s not going to look like a day at The Hampton Classic Horse Show. Instead, it might be taking a page from the Houston Rodeo playbook—and maybe, just maybe, I could get on board. The girl who used to dream of riding in The Classic would be horrified. Modern-day me, not so much.

Keep scrolling to shop the chicest cow-printed clothing, shoes, and accessories for fall 2025. Yeehaw, giddy-up, et cetera.

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