Young Thug is a rapper known to push the boundaries of whatever he’s involved in. He burst into the music scene with his high-pitched, drug addled experiments with auto-tune and melodic hooks – a sound aesthetic that inspired much of the ‘soundcloud’ movement that has taken over rap music today.
In addition to his music, Thugger’s sense of individualism also shimmers through his unorthodox image. He is known for his flamboyant, eccentric and androgynous style that defies the hyper-masculine attitude associated with hip hop culture since its conception. His fearlessness has cemented his position as an icon in both the rap and fashion world.
It makes sense then that Matthew Williams enlisted the Atlanta-born artist to soundtrack his first physical Givenchy show with an original score and unreleased music from his upcoming album, Punk. Trap hi-hats skipped over bouncing 808’s and lush synth melodies, perfectly accompanying the streetwear-inflected collection. Williams said the score had him “honored and excited” about presenting it in Paris.
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This isn’t the first time he’s featured in the runway show of a coveted designer. In fact, he actually has a bit of history for hijacking them. Back in 2016, Kanye West presented Yeezy Season 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The event was an expansive hybrid of fashion show and album release party for The Life Of Pablo, with about 18,000 people in attendance. Young Thug was among the hundreds of models stood wearing Yeezy in the centre of the venue.
The cameras caught Young Thug at around the 38 minute mark. He sat with his head resting on his hand, eyes shut and seemingly falling asleep. Naturally, the internet was entertained by this picture and sleepy Thugger was later immortalised as a meme on everyone’s timeline. About 10 minutes later, he appeared amongst the entourage behind the sound desk and Kanye interrupted his song, Fade, to announce that “Thug wants to play some new shit”. The sound of the aux cord being passed over resonated through the arena before Young Thug blasted a then unreleased track from his phone. His antics meant he became the star of the show.
Later that year, Young Thug was on the front row for the VFILES Season 7 show also in New York. But his involvement in this example was a bit more rogue than the others. During Reshemy Botter’s collection, the rapper acted as an unofficial stylist. Thugger stood up and stepped onto the runway, stopping a model just in front of his seat. He took a moment to delicately fix the model’s collar and gently primp his neck ruff before sitting down and letting the show continue. He did so wearing a turtle neck and jacket from BOTTER’s collection so it is unclear whether it was planned or not. But in any case, it definitely got people talking.
As one of the season’s mentors, it is clear that the stunt came from Young Thug’s deep appreciation for fashion. Moments later, he even gave a solo standing ovation to the look he would later wear on an iconic album cover, as it came down the runway.
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