Lil Yachty’s Yeezy Season: How ATL youth infiltrated NYFW
The Atlanta rapper is already garnering attention from the likes of Kanye and Rick Rubin
When asked what it was like standing still for a few hours during his modeling debut on Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 3 stage, Atlanta rapper Lil Yachty flashed a gold grill smile and kept it candid: ”That shit hurt my feet,” he told No Jumper podcast host Adam22.
And it just might be that raw grit that makes Atlanta youngsters natural born tastemakers — the kind who get flown out for exclusive fashion shows. Yeezy Season 3, a collection infused with nude colors and distressed fabrics, debuted at Madison Square Garden during New York Fashion Week and although Yachty only started making music four months ago, he received a personal invite.
Coach K, the young rapper’s manager, and the man responsible for the early careers of rap phenoms like Jeezy and Gucci Mane, feels confident that his teenage client is the “new face of Atlanta.”
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And by the look of things, Coach K’s idea might not be too far fetched because not everyone gets to rub shoulders with renowned producer and hip-hop mogul Rick Rubin (pictured above).
Yachty has a style and a musical wave that appears to be all his own. He describes his sound as “boat music,” rarely sports any clothing that isn’t vintage Nautica, and his red hair adorned with small beads isn’t easy to forget. Thus, it isn’t hard to see why Ian Connor, fashion It Boy and muse to Kanye West, sent Yachty an invite to be a part of the fashion show.
The two met at the Los Angeles airport. Yachty was wearing a yellow Supreme jacket as we walked through security check and Connor wanted it so badly he offered to pay for it right then and there.
Described as a “cool-kid” by Vogue magazine, Ian Connor has worked with the likes of rappers Wiz Khalifa and ASAP Rocky before he could even have a legal drink. The New York-born, Atlanta-bred creative works as a stylist, guiding artists on what’s hot in street wear. Connor has also worked with fashion brands, including the Atlanta based +Fresh.i.Am+.<!————EndFragment————>
A Yeezy Season favorite, Connor has been featured in both the Season 1 and Season 2 shows. Photographed while infamously smoking a cigarette during last year’s show, Connor isn’t blind to his own ability to turn heads and set trends. He puts his faith in his fashion.
In this year’s Yeezy Season 3 show, Yachty and Connor stood alongside each other and showed the thousands of people watching that Atlanta isn’t low on style or talent.
Let’s not forget that Kanye himself was born right here in the A.