By Megan LawtonOptions correspondent
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From the pop star’s excessive bouffant hair to the 5 sequin-spangled outfits she wore, Miley’s appears to be like have been a nod to her well-known godmother.
Miley Cyrus has by no means been identified for her retiring appears to be like. That is an artist who likes to make a press release – and the Wrecking Ball singer did precisely that earlier this week, with 5 completely different outfits on the 2024 Grammys. The daring appears to be like bought individuals speaking: They have been smothered with sequins, beads and even feather shawls. After which there was Cyrus’ hair, which was piled sky-high.
If this aesthetic feels acquainted, that’s as a result of it’s straight out the playbook of Cyrus’ godmother, Dolly Parton, an 11-time Grammy winner herself and, in accordance with many, the “world’s best-loved movie star.”
Parton turned shut with Cyrus’ father, Billy Ray Cyrus, once they toured collectively within the early Nineteen Nineties, “as a result of he’s a Kentucky boy [and] I’m from Tennessee,” Parton mentioned on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Present final yr. “And he mentioned…We’re having a woman, and also you’ve bought to be her godmother!’ And I mentioned, ‘Nicely, I’d be honored.’ So really, Miley and I took over from there. We simply stayed very, very shut by the years.”
That closeness is obvious of their musical collaborations in addition to Cyrus’ Grammy trend. The truth is, two of the outfits Cyrus wore that evening have been classic designs of Bob Mackie, who has been creating stage appears to be like for Dolly Parton since 1979 (alongside different leisure icons like Marilyn Monroe, Cher and Diana Ross).
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At this yr’s ceremony, Cyrus was nominated for six awards and took house two: document of the yr for Flowers, in addition to greatest pop solo efficiency. It’s the primary time the singer has received a Grammy. When reflecting on her wins on Instagram, the Tennessee-born artist tagged her godmother, saying, “I felt your fairy mud all over the place (I put slightly additional in my hair, may you inform?!).”
Dolly Parton has lengthy been the poster lady of nation music – and identified for her standout model. Final yr she launched a ebook about her trend decisions, which she described in an interview with the Guardian newspaper as ‘weird’.
She mentioned, “I’ve worn among the most weird issues – my hairdos have all the time been so on the market. On the time you suppose you look good, then you definitely look again on it, like, what was I considering?”
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As is predicted with assertion appears to be like, the web reacted to Cyrus’ model, notably specializing in her hair. Not everybody understood it – some even mentioned it appeared like she’d been electrocuted.
Others cherished it, together with western trend and life-style content material creator Shaley Ham, who bought the nation reference right away.
“A typical saying with girls within the south is ‘Tease it to Jesus’, the place you model your hair as excessive as you may,” Ham tells BBC Tradition. “Miley’s voluptuous hair immediately jogged my memory of that.”
Ham explains you wouldn’t see that coiffure in cities like New York or Los Angeles, however step south into Dallas, Houston or Nashville and it is extra frequent. “They are typically an older demographic which might be rocking it, however with Miley bringing it again on the Grammy’s, I can see these excessive curls making a return,” she says.
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Though Miley Cyrus’ current music wouldn’t essentially be outlined as nation, she has collaborated together with her godmother – most lately on a re-record of Wrecking Ball. Ham says collaborations like these are piquing international curiosity in cowboy tradition.
“Proper now, western trend may be very a lot crossing over to mainstream,” she says. “My pal runs a western trend retailer in Fort Value, Texas, and he or she describes individuals being ‘cowboy curious’. When main artists pull inspiration from cowboy tradition, like the large hair and the glam, and even Beyonce sporting a cowboy hat to the Grammys, it exhibits a lot cowboy tradition is taking on the primary stage.”
Ashley Jackson is a Western trend journalist who lives in Idaho. She teaches individuals about western traditions, from the style to the tradition – and agrees with Ham that cowboys are having a second. For Jackson, Cyrus’ appears to be like usually are not solely a nod to her godmother, but additionally her personal heritage.
“She thanked her household and Dolly in her speeches, plus in her Instagram publish, and he or she did it together with her outfit too,” Jackson tells BBC Tradition. “That is Miley saying, ‘Hey, I’m rooted in Western tradition and it doesn’t need to be outlined by a horse and denims. Our tradition is elegant, female and highly effective.”
Jackson additionally notes that, on a private stage, Cyrus has been by loads – having lately gone by a divorce – and her stage appears to be like have been about asserting her energy.
“There’s energy in a girl who wears her hair that huge,” says Jackson. “Western tradition is about true grit and character.”
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