Ski Mask The Slump God Brings Gucci Socks With the Crocs to the Game

Known for his colorful combination of hyper-speed flows and quirky wordplay, Ski Mask The Slump God's got a rap style all his own. So it makes sense that his artistic individuality is infused with his fashion DNA, one stitched in Burberry fabrics, streetwear and any diamond-in-the-rough thrift store gear that strikes his fancy.

"The best way to explain my [fashion] is unorthodox," Ski says in the latest edition of XXL's Spend Some Time series, which was filmed at Origins, a streetwear and resale shop in New York City's SoHo, on the night the South Florida rapper's debut album, Stokeley, (Nov. 29) arrived. "Literally, what I figured out is that nothing's cool until somebody makes it fucking cool. If you do something, and you do it right, you're gonna make that shit cool."

One new fashion trend Ski's trying to popularize is the combination of Gucci socks with Crocs. The 22-year-old artist even made a song about the unexpected combo in November.

"I'm one person that likes to do like, shit differently," offers Ski, who's adorned in a baby shower-ready Burberry top, gold and black Gucci socks and some white Crocs. "I hate anything that seems like something that has been done. I'm trying to bring something that has never been done that would never usually be done that's actually cool. So it's like, 'This nigga actually made Crocs fire.'"

Since bursting on the rap scene a couple years ago with his 2016 mixtape Drown in Designer, a mixtape with a title that underscores the 2018 XXL Freshman's affinity for upper-echelon drip, Ski Mask has consistently made efforts to evolve his wardrobe. Around 2014, when videos of him started popping up across the web, he could be seen rocking trucker hats while posting up with his good friend, the late XXXTentacion. At that same time, he rocked more colorful clothes along with white-and-black bandanas and Birkenstocks (Ski jokingly adds that video director Cole Bennett stole his swag with those).

By the time his breakout single "Catch Me Outside" came out in 2017, he had already started rocking a durag with the knot positioned at the side of his face instead of the traditional way—tied to the back. The look has since become synonymous with his name and he credits himself for the inspiration to start rocking it.

"There's really nobody who taught me how to dress," Ski reveals after being asked about his fashion influences. "Like, me and X wore whatever the fuck we really just wanted to. Like, if we looked crazy, we really [didn't] give a fuck. For some reason, we could always just pull off some shit."

While Ski doesn't want to take credit for being some huge fashion influencer just yet, he makes it a point to describe his style as being an inimitable one. "If you see somebody dressing like me, you know they're purposely trying to dress like me because I dress like nothing," he says with a laugh.

His expensive wardrobe and the title of his first mixtape point toward Ski being obsessed with big brand names, but he insists the labels don't get to him. Quality does.

"Gucci actually looks good—that's the point of it," Ski offers after skittering his way across Origins. "It's a lot of clothes that get bought for high expenses, like more than they should be, because it's a name brand, but [Gucci] clothes actually look better than the cheaper clothes," Ski continues as he sorts through tops with an eye for craftsmanship.  "Look at this bumblebee, G," he adds before picking up a snow white Gucci polo. "They hand stitched that. They had to."

At a different point of the night, Ski, who dropped $979 on a pair of black Yves Saint Laurent corduroys and a red and white A Bathing Ape long-sleeve shirt during his trip to Origins, expands on his signature durag and plans to create his own line of the fashion choice that has become his bat signal.

"I'ma definitely come out with my own line of durags," Ski reveals. "Eventually when my hair grows back to a certain point, I'm gonna start retwisting it and then untwisting it and then start wearing bandanas like I used to."

Ski Mask's fashion choices have definitely evolved over the years but adaptability is what Ski says is the biggest hallmark of his style.

"Adapt to yourself, bro," Ski offers for folks who are hesitant to reinvent their look. "What I wanna say is don't let nobody tell you that you should stay in your lane, bro. If you feel like you only look good with Black hair, my nigga, get the opposite of Black hair, G shit. Just experiment with yourself. You have one life. Live that shit."

See Photos of Ski Mask The Slump God at Origins in New York City