Job opportunities; Fakemink's new album; weekly roundups for music and footwear; and more

Welcome Digest [5.22.26]

Welcome To May 22nd

Today’s Important Headlines

Fakemink’s album Terrified came with a website and a short film

One of the most highly anticipated releases of the year, Fakemink’s album Terrified, finally dropped last night. The 19-track album is produced entirely by Mink himself, with no features, despite rumors earlier this week of a secret guest appearance. Mink celebrated the release with a live performance in London, where he brought out Preshboyswag, Sixzino, and Zuko. Alongside the album, he launched a website featuring lyrics for each track with short accompanying notes, as well as a short film about a ghost haunting the Chateau Marmont.

Weekly Music Roundup

Nine Vicious comfortably leads the list of most-viewed Rolling Loud sets, with Nettspend, Osamason, Slayr, and Bleood rounding out the top five; ear has officially signed to A24 Music; Pz announced a new mixtape dropping this summer; 1,500 PlaqueBoyMax songs have leaked online; Lil Shine sentenced to 3 years in prison; Mark Cuban now follows Edward Skeletrix on Instagram

It’s also a big week for new music, with releases from Bladee, Charli XCX, Osamason, Slayr, Veeze, Yung Kayo, The Sound Chalk Makes, Ivy Knight, Smerz, diamond*, and NOVA GANG.

$8.4M worth of coke was found in a SKIMS shipment

According to a report from the National Crime Agency, 90 packages of 1kg cocaine, totaling a value of $8.4 million, were discovered via X-ray in a hidden rear door compartment of a SKIMS truck shipment. The NCA clarified that SKIMS was not involved. The 40-year-old Polish truck driver was subsequently sentenced to 13 years in prison.

“Cruise” collections: what they are, and why you’ve been hearing about them

This year, luxury houses have heavily invested in their Cruise collections, which until recently were treated as minor between-season collections of resortwear for wealthy vacationers. Case in point: Demna’s $10 million Gucci Times Square show, which was a Cruise show, became one of the most expensive runway productions ever staged. Houses like Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Chanel also unveiled collections that move far beyond standard Cruise lines. Louis Vuitton unveiled Keith Haring collaborations; Dior pushed far beyond the confines of vacation wear; and Blazy’s Chanel show embraced a classic summer holiday theme, though reducing it to that alone would undersell the creativity and vision behind the collection. This new importance of Cruise collections reflects the endlessly accelerating fashion news cycle, one in which brands feel compelled to assert themselves at every possible opportunity.

Molly Santana performed at a Japanese women’s extreme wrestling league

This week, Molly Santana performed at Sukeban, a Harajuku-style women’s extreme wrestling league that brings underground fight club energy together with eccentric Japanese street style aesthetics, reminiscent of FRUiTS magazine. Santana, who is half Japanese herself, performed wearing custom blacked-out grillz inspired by the traditional practice of ohaguro, or tooth blackening. This week, Santana reportedly earned $500,000 for her feature on Drake’s project, with her monthly listeners surging from 600,000 to 10 million overnight.

Footwear roundup

A$AP Rocky and Puma’s new scaly mule silhouette; Loewe’s new low profile shoes drawing comparisons to skate brand Village; New Balance x Stone Island collaboration; Nike Air Foamposite One “Tianjin 2.0”; Crocs x Slam Jam clogs embedded with galvanized flat-head nails; futuristic footwear from Louis Vuitton’s Cruise 2027 collection; Clarks Originals’ gingham pack; and Salomon x MM6 Maison Margiela XT sneakers

Teaser for the Prada x Hideo Kojima exhibit at NYC’s Hotel Chelsea

Building on last year’s Satellites collaboration between Prada, Hideo Kojima, and Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, The Neon Demon), the three-way project will return as Satellites II, taking over New York’s iconic Chelsea Hotel from June 3–7. A six-minute teaser for the installation, starring Winding Refn and Kojima, premiered at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in a private screening on Tuesday. Refn has said he often feels that he and Kojima “were split from the same consciousness,” a sentiment that helped inspire the sci-fi Space Odyssey-style concept, which concludes with the pair checking into the Chelsea Hotel.

Spotify is introducing AI-generated covers and remixes

Launching as a separate paid add-on to Spotify Premium, Spotify and Universal Music Group made a new tool that will allow users to generate AI covers and remixes using songs from participating artists and songwriters. These artists would earn royalties from the generated tracks. It marks the first time a major streaming platform has openly embraced consumer-facing generative AI tools, and given UMG’s status as one of the “Big Three” record labels, the deal signals a major shift in how the music industry will approach AI. Online reaction has been overwhelmingly negative, with many users criticizing Spotify for continuing to prioritize the top 0.1% of artists while simultaneously cracking down on human-made bootlegs and SoundCloud remixes. In happier Spotify news, the platform is rolling out a new feature called “Reserved,” which will combat scalpers, and give an artist’s top listeners early access to concert tickets.

Artist’s installation transforms the oldest bridge in Paris into a massive cave (and they’re playing Daft Punk in there)

La Caverne, or The Cave, is the latest exhibition by French artist Jean-René, more commonly known as JR. The installation transforms Paris’s oldest bridge, Pont Neuf, into a 120-meter-long, 18-meter-high inflatable cave, designed to mimic the limestone quarries on which the city’s foundations were originally built. Upon entering the space, visitors are greeted by sounds by Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk. The exhibition is open to the public 24/7 from June 6 to June 28.

Headline curation and words by Mikail Haroon (@mvkail)

Classifieds

Exciting opportunities, employment and otherwise

HOMME FEMME — Multiple Roles (Los Angeles, CA / New York, NY)

Fashion brand hiring across Warehouse Manager, Senior Designer, Graphic Designer, and Warehouse Associate roles supporting creative and operational growth. Ideal candidates have relevant fashion, logistics, or design experience.
Apply

The New York Times — Assistant Fashion Editor (New York, NY)

Senior editorial role leading fashion news coverage across breaking news, enterprise reporting, and digital storytelling for the Styles desk. Ideal candidate has strong newsroom editing experience and deep understanding of fashion, culture, and internet-driven media.
Apply

A24 — Music Marketing Lead (New York, NY)

Senior music marketing role leading digital campaigns, DSP strategy, paid media, partnerships, and audience growth across soundtrack and artist releases within A24 Music. Ideal candidate has extensive music industry marketing experience across streaming and social platforms.
Apply