The baseball cap makes a global comeback, even in cricket-loving India
After capping a victory, Trump has refused to let go. In February, he handed out caps with the slogan 'TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING' in the Oval Office. On April 30, Trump and erstwhile favourite Elon Musk bantered at a cabinet meeting, where Musk was donning a double hat— a black DOGE (Department of Governmental Efficiency) and a Gulf of America red cap.
Even though the love did not last, the caps did, because the recent outing of the chic chapeau was on July 1, when Trump visited a temporary migrant detention centre. The 'GULF OF AMERICA' slogan came with a baseline 'Yet Another TRUMP Development'.
STATE OF HEADSThe cap is the medium and the message— but this is not the first time.
Headgears, in general, have been deployed by leaders. This time, it is not about resistance but renaissance. In May 2025, GQ proclaimed that 'a good cap is about as essential to the modern wardrobe as good underwear'. Internationally, it-boys, from Timothee Chalamet to Kendrick Lamar to Jeremy Allen White, have been sporting noggin covers.For designer Kanika Goyal, known for her playful, neo-luxury fashion, a cap is the perfect piece to disrupt or balance an outfit. She says, 'It can add ease to something overly serious or elevate a casual look with the right detailing. Whether it's a quirky slogan, unexpected fabric, or an exaggerated form, it has the power to pull a whole look together.' In her recent Disney x Kanika Goyal Label (KGL) collaboration, there was a minimal black cap with a Mickey Mouse head cut-out. 'It's simple but still feels bold and experimental. For me, it's that duality that makes the cap so relevant right now.'Stylists Ayesha Amin Nigam and Shaurya Athley recently launched their elevated basics label Stitchuation with caps being the first drop. Athley says, 'A baseball cap has become a classic accessory that anyone can wear. It's unisex. It's not limited by size. It adds spunk to any outfit—with colour or text.' Their caps come with sassy slogans like 'pre-rich' and 'I look great on Instagram'. Nigam says, 'Caps are a way of self-expression.'If celebrity style in Hollywood is to go by, novelty baseball caps are having its time in the sun. While America is the heart of baseball caps—400 million caps are sold annually—India is discovering the lid life. Meenakshi Singh, cofounder of Capsul, a streetwear retail store, says caps as a category has always done well for them, with price points ranging from `3,000 to `7,000.Singh says baseball caps have a centuries-old history. She adds, 'Streetwear takes inspiration from sports like baseball, skateboarding and basketball. A sports revival in streetwear, popularity of athleisure and fashion trends like normcore [characterised by embracing clothing and aesthetics that are intentionally ordinary] are all fuelling the rise of baseball caps.'Singh notes that the stealth wealth aesthetic popularised by the series Succession has also created a market for luxury baseball caps. Fashion houses like Loewe, Dior, Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton have baseball caps. Singh says, 'Pop culture currently is powering the baseball cap revival. Soaps and celebrities, like musicians Frank Ocean or Pharrell Williams, create a demand even though baseball doesn't exist in India because the influences are universal now.'
Yash Gangwal, founder of Mumbai-based Urban Monkey, an Indian streetwear brand that started out with headgear, says, 'While globally, cap trends are moving away from basics. Indian trends are bit more conservative. The distressed look is big globally, but we still go for basic or utility caps,' he says, adding that 90% of his cap sales are baseball caps. The clientele is mainly spread over 16-40 years.
CLASS TOPPER In many ways, a cap is the perfect topper. Adding a baseball cap instantly makes an outfit feel a bit more casual. Nigam says, 'I like how even luxury brands have gotten into it, showing that baseball cap has really penetrated every sort of market.'Goyal says designers have been playing with the cap's fabrications, embroidery and construction, but what feels different now is how far brands are pushing the envelope. 'There's a shift towards redefining the cap through conceptual design—take Avavav x Adidas's deconstructed caps or KidSuper's take in his Spring-Summer 2026 show. There's a deeper shift in how luxury is defined—less about polish, more about play and narrative,' she says.Be it as a sun protector, a bad hair day cover, or a bald spot concealer, there are many reasons to don a cap. But the reason why a baseball cap is emerging as a formidable style accessory is that it spares the wearer from breaking the first rule of style: looking like you are trying too hard. Stylist Rin Jajo advises, 'The idea is to use it in a high-low style, that is pair it with unexpected outfits: a tailored shirt and trousers, or a dress.'Jajo says caps are also an easy entry point to incorporate branded luxury labels into your wardrobe. His advice? Go for simple, solid colours. A well-used or vintage cap with patina adds an authentic layer of style to your outfit. To know where to wear it, the rule of thumb is, the more casual the setting, the better the cap works. Can you wear it backwards? Apparently, the flipped-around look of the early aughts is back, but make sure it's fitted. In a GQ article, LA-based celeb stylist Mike Comrie calls it a style symbolic of rebellion. He says: 'It embodies where a lot of our culture is mentally at this time.... There's a general desire to just go against the status quo.' A cap apparently says it all. No cap.
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