Lil Yachty didn’t need to pose for PLACES+FACES. 

After a decade of dishing out viral hits, the 27-year-old is established enough to not really need the extra exposure. Yachty's also quite busy, somehow simultaneously plowing through a relentless five-month-long tour schedule that began in February, designing Nike collaborations, releasing music videos, and managing his Concrete Boys rap collective and clothing label.

So, why is Lil Yachty gleaming from ear to ear, two middle fingers held up, wearing PLACES+FACES' mesh baseball top?

No one loves to support indie streetwear more than Lil Yachty.

Just check the receipts!

Just last month, Yachty was wearing a range of new Corteiz tracksuits and camo shirts to promote the brand's May 30 drop, making this London’s second small-ish streetwear label — one over a decade in the game, the other a poster child for modern UK fashion — to lens Lil Yachty, one of America’s biggest rappers.

If it was any other rapper of Yachty’s status, this would be a minor anomaly.

But this is Lil Yachty, a man who raps as much as he models, and always for an emerging streetwear brand at that. 

Yachty shows up for makers as varied as Lorenzo OG, the British dye customizer; Milli Point Two, from whom he wore an electric-blue leather two-piece; PDF Channel, wearing huge shorts and equally oversized footwear with the other Concrete Boys; Denim Tears; and even GOLF le FLEUR*, the more casual line overseen by his buddy Tyler, The Creator. 

They may all be at various points in their journey but these brands are all independent and all tight with Yachty.

This is clearly a passion project on his behalf, an interest born of eternal fashion curiosity.

Someone of Yachty's stature could get paid handsomely to be exclusively photographed in luxury labels. And maybe he would, if they wised up and came calling. Instead, Yachty opts to boost the stature of smaller makers.

It's commendable stuff.

He's not only supporting independent brands by wearing them — he's going one better and lending his face to photoshoots.

In turn, Yachty only endears himself to his young fans, who see in him something of themselves: A true believer, a down-to-earth dude who just loves dope stuff.

Because it's not just what Lil Yachty wears that makes him a key figure in streetwear. It's who.

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