fakemink has known he’s been destined for greatness. Either that, or he might just be the best manifestor of the modern age.

The ascendant 20-year-old UK artist has penned plenty of bars of or relating to high fashion, referencing Ann Demeulemeester, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Valentino, and Alexander McQueen to name just a few.

Two particular points of creative inspiration for the now nearly mainstream-veering musician that have remained consistent throughout mink’s meteoric rise? Hedi Slimane and Supreme.

He spits on two of his breakout tracks – ”MAKKA” with Ecco2k and Mechatok, and its original solo version “Snow White” – the same hypnotic hook. “I’m only twenty, but it feels like plenty / Man, I still get blown, but I don’t sip Henny / I’m layin’ in the back of the Maybach Benny / 2025, yeah, my jeans still Hedi.”

“MAKKA” dropped in May; “Snow White” dropped in July, and by August, fakemink was behind the lens of Slimane himself for a cover of The Face magazine.

As for Supreme, the label has also found its way into the rapper’s artistry, a core topic of conversation on his old Twitch streams. He once spoke about how he felt more people were becoming bandwagon fans of the streetwear brand, differentiating himself as an OG supporter.

Yesterday, the OG supporter himself got an official co-sign back from the imprint itself, leading Supreme’s latest lookbook for its collaboration with True Religion.

If everyone who rapped or yapped about Supreme ended up in a campaign, we’d have a lot fewer sh*tty rappers and a lot more mediocre models. But in a textbook “breakout year” riddled with big-name co-signs, the Supreme x True Religion lookbook arrives as a storybook full-circle close-out to the past 12 months – and might be what cements fakemink’s rising star in the more mainstream-leaning cultural consciousness.

---

January

He ushered in 2025 with “Kacey Lola,” followed by “War Clothes” and “Easter Pink,” the latter of which proved a key point in his global trajectory as well as defining his electroclash-infused approach to hip hop – nostalgic in its blog era-style sound, yet bolstered by lyrical braggadocio only a budding star could possess. Produced by Surf Gang affiliate producer duo Suzy Sheer, the song garnered solid reviews and was succeeded by “Receipt” and “I’m Dead,” starting the year with a high-octane, bloghouse bang.

February

EsDeeKid’s “LV Sandals” dropped in early February, on which fakemink appeared as a featured artist alongside fellow UK underground pioneer, Rico Ace. The song currently has over 44 million streams on Spotify. Solo cut “Face to Face” wrapped up the month.

March

March marked the release of “Milk.”

April

And in April came “Music and Me.”

May

May was “MAKKA” month, another tentpole moment in fakemink’s trajectory, and further cementing his name on a handful of “Artists to Watch” lists. “MAKKA” was a joint triumph from its three Euro underground kings: mink, Ecco2k, and Mechatok.

June

Solely on YouTube, he unveiled the self-produced “Crying,” continuing to showcase his artistic versatility.

July

“Crying” came followed up by another self-produced offering, “Same Mistakes.” But what defined July was what might still mark fakemink’s biggest moment yet, as he found himself in his home city performing with Drake. The Boy brought fakemink out during his headlining set of Wireless Festival, the duo performing “LV Sandals” for the sold-out crowd.  He also met up with Yeat during the festival and dropped “Snow White” on streaming services.

August

He continued his streaming releases with “Braces.”

September

During New York Fashion Week, fakemink performed a sold-out show in NYC. He also landed a coveted co-sign from none other than Frank Ocean, earning a spot on his @blonded Instagram story.

October

Last month was a big one, with more and more people catching on to his self-proclaimed “dirty luxury” style. He dropped off two tracks that both quickly gained traction – “Look At Me” and “Fidelio” – and completed a run of collaborative side quests. He showed out at one of Yung Lean’s DJ sets in Los Angeles, linked up with A$AP Rocky, and took the stage with Playboi Carti during his Antagonist 2.0 LA stop. Fans noticed that Carti followed fakemink on Instagram a few days prior.

November

So far, this month has seen the musician link up with the likes of Pusha T and Malice, and Aziz Ansari, as well as land a co-sign from Destroy Lonely.

---

If you take one scroll through r/fakemink or any of the musicians’ devoted archive Instagram pages, you’ll come across debates of “newgen” versus “oldgen” fakemink fans. The “oldgen” or Day 1 fans (aka glorified gatekeepers) stand on their love of the artist just as fakemink stood on his love of Supreme, while “newgen” fans argue that they aren’t just in it for the alt-IYKYK image that comes with having fakemink on your playlist.

Yet as his star continues to rise – and his sonic ether expands in reach as it does – it’s going to be damn near impossible to gatekeep him any longer. The year isn’t over yet, and based on how mink tends to move, the next month and a half is more than enough time to move the needle once again. Maybe Louis Vuitton is up next…