Let Us All Take a Moment to Appreciate Young Thug at Fashion Week

For most people, hopping out of the audience to adjust a model’s attire mid-walk at New York Fashion Week would be considered highly unusual and in some cases deplorable, but then again, most people are not Young Thug.

Thug definitely is not your typical style icon, but this past Fashion Week, the rapper quickly emerged as one of the industry’s most unlikely heroes. When New York-based streetwear brand VFiles tapped the Atlanta native to be a mentor for their runway show, he willingly assumed the role with the attitude of a seasoned vet. Experienced or not, Young Thug definitely is not your average mentor. In fact, he doesn’t settle for anything average. While noticing a runway model’s inadequately styled outfit, he didn’t hesitate to stop him in his tracks, and tend to the imperfections himself. Needless to say, Young Thug doesn’t take fashion lightly.

With a sense of style as distinctive as his musical talents, his own apparel line, “Young Stoner Life” (YSL), most likely has Yves Saint Laurent rolling over in his grave. He has modeled in Kanye West’s “Yeezy Season” show, wearing a shearling coat and diamond chains, which probably cost more than the average one-year college tuition. He has been featured on Vogue.com with a cast of the world’s most famous supermodels singing and dancing along to his own hit song. He is a fashion force to be reckoned with.

For the cover of his newly released and highly praised mixtape “JEFFERY,” Thug shocked the world when he chose to showcase himself in a dress with cascading periwinkle ruffles. The outfit, which Thug discovered during his VFiles mentorship and was actually featured in the show (he gave it a standing ovation as it came down the runway), immediately caught the rapper’s eye and he ultimately knew he had to have it for the “JEFFERY” cover art.

But this was not the first time Young Thug straddled the line of socially accepted gender norms, and it is safe to say it will not be his last. When asked about his upcoming wedding, he has made clear that “there will be two brides” standing at the altar. He is playing with androgyny and cross-dressing in a way that is reminiscent of late pop legend David Bowie. In his Calvin Klein #mycalvins advertisement which reads, “I disobey in #mycalvins,” Thug looks extremely futuristic wearing a form fitting black tunic dress and matching bell-bottom pants. As he stands on a rocky slope and looks off to the distance, he appears as an extraterrestrial being that has come to bring fashion into a new era, so as to say, “Ready or not, I’m here.”