Eiteljorg Museum to Open ‘Cowboy Couture’ Exhibit Showcasing Indianapolis Designer Jerry Lee Atwood’s Western Wear

An Indianapolis-made fashion story enters the museum

The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art will open a major fashion exhibition, “Cowboy Couture: The Fashion of Jerry Lee Atwood,” on March 28, 2026. The show focuses on custom Western-style garments created by Indianapolis designer Jerry Lee Atwood and is included with general museum admission. The exhibition is scheduled to run through Aug. 2, 2026.

The museum is positioning the exhibition as both a contemporary fashion presentation and a historical exploration of how Western clothing developed into an enduring visual language in American popular culture. The exhibition brings together finished suits, supporting materials that document how the garments are made, and contextual references to earlier Western and performance styles.

What visitors will see inside “Cowboy Couture”

The exhibition centers on Atwood’s tailored suits featuring chain-stitch embroidery and other decorative elements that have become a signature of his studio work. Alongside completed looks, the display also examines the designer’s process through photographs and design sketches, and includes a vignette with items drawn from his Indianapolis workspace.

The museum’s curatorial framing connects Atwood’s pieces to a longer lineage of performance-driven Western dress, tracing stylistic links to the ornate stage wardrobes that became common in mid-20th-century country music and extending further back to 19th-century Native and vaquero attire. By pairing contemporary designs with this context, the exhibit aims to show how Western aesthetics have been repeatedly reinterpreted across eras, communities and entertainment settings.

Atwood’s local roots and national visibility

Atwood began making Western wear after being drawn to cowboy-themed costumes seen on album covers and onstage performances from the 1960s and 1970s. What started as a hobby developed into a career built around commissioned, custom garments designed for special occasions.

In 2013, Atwood and business partner Joe David Walters founded Union Western Clothing in Indianapolis, focusing on made-to-order suits whose embroidered imagery is tailored to the individual wearer. Over time, celebrity styling networks began commissioning his work after discovering it on social media.

• Post Malone wore an Atwood-designed blue suit at the 2017 American Music Awards.
• Lil Nas X wore an Atwood fringed suit in the 2019 “Old Town Road” music video.
• Atwood and his studio appeared in a Vogue magazine feature in 2021.

How the exhibition fits the Eiteljorg’s mission

The Eiteljorg, located at 500 W. Washington St. in White River State Park, is dedicated to exploring the arts, histories and cultures of the American West and the Indigenous Peoples of North America. “Cowboy Couture” extends that scope into fashion by using Western wear as an entry point to discuss cultural imagery, craftsmanship and how ideas of “the West” circulate through art and entertainment.

“Fashion at its core is art,” Atwood said in museum materials describing the exhibition, emphasizing that his suits begin as drawings and move through multiple stages of design and construction.

The museum has also announced related public programming tied to the exhibition during its run.