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In the Cultural Spotlight: Brands, Fans and Stylemakers Converge at ComplexCon
Art, fashion, music and food come to the fore at event’s 10th anniversary
The streetwear, art, music and food fest ComplexCon is “the Big Game,” with a dash of Met Gala thrown in, according to its organizer, style and culture publisher Complex. It’s also been called the World’s Fair for trend-setting, fashionista, hip hop-loving Gen Z.
Pick any nickname, really, and the result this past weekend would’ve been the same: a palpable ground-up rumbling not unlike an earthquake, even though the Los Angeles Convention Center doesn’t sit directly on a fault line.
The two-day event, during which celebrity sightings and exclusive sneaker drops set off recurring human stampedes, celebrated its 10th outing with its first L.A. proper show. (From its birth in Long Beach, it spent the past few years in Las Vegas.)
“There’s a level of passion from this audience that you don’t see anywhere outside of sports,” said Mike Tresvant, executive vice president of brand partnership for Complex. “This is our Super Bowl.”
The event, with bookended concerts each night at Crypto Arena, is expected to break its 70,000-attendee record when tallies are complete. There were nearly 400 brand exhibitors and a head-spinning number of content creators and brand collaborations. Exclusivity and scarcity ruled the days. Marquee sponsors like Modelo and Google Pixel got their foot traffic and earned media (not all of it good, see “Brawls and Beefs” below) while the crowd lived up to its Cali sober rep.
Let’s check out some highlights of the gathering, which predicts a future filled with blousy trousers, matcha cocktails and world-building brands.
Tell me you’re an ad without telling me you’re an ad
From a reservations-only speakeasy tucked inside the Lexus activation to a day spa set up in a luxe Birkenstock truck, brands were “inviting people into a sensory experience,” Tresvant said. Many companies sign multi-year deals with the franchise, he said, refining and evolving their offerings each go around. Longtime partner Chase Freedom’s sprawling 2026 presence at the event included murals created in real time by artist King Saladeen and appearances by JuJu Watkins, Russell Westbrook, actress Lauren London and designer Jae Tips, among others. Complex steers its partners toward activations that “aren’t too heavy handed,” Tresvant said. Delivering on brand narratives sits side by side with “making an emotional connection” with attendees. The goal is intimacy, but at scale, like Toyota’s flower-powered “Road to Bloom” booth. “Ingenuity has to be at the crux,” he said, “and the creative story has to be developed.”
Touching grass
CashApp could’ve gone the predictable route with a slick, tech-forward activation, but chose the polar opposite. The brand’s Lightning Lake featured a rustic bait shop and man-made pond, with a wooden dock, real foliage and piped-in nature sounds. Participants fished for bitcoin with sensor-equipped poles, keeping their catch (from $10 to $400) or spending it on the brand’s anglercore merch or at a handful of on-site vendors. North West and French Montana stopped by, joining a steady stream of amateur anglers. A grand prize winner took home an entire bitcoin, worth about $85,000. Fishmaxxing! The booth, with Disney alums as designers, is part of the “new era of immersive experiences” from the brand, aiming to boost cryptocurrency adoption, said Brett Schneider, head of partnership activations at parent company Block. “We wanted something that would be visually arresting on the floor and a good juxtaposition to bitcoin,” he said. There’s already talk of expanding the footprint to take to music festivals and other events, “so it’s not just a one-off, it’s more like a cinematic universe.”
Brawls and beefs (laid to rest?)
Playboi Carti, who served as concert headliner and co-artistic director of ComplexCon with Hiroshi Fujiwara, reportedly wasn’t involved in a Saturday afternoon knife fight outside the venue. But members of his and rapper Lucki’s entourages allegedly were, per TMZ. There were numerous injuries, including Lucki, but no arrests, according to the LAPD. Yet inside the convention, it was all about reconciliation. Carti and Kanye West appeared together on Sunday, walking the expo halls wearing unreleased Yeezy apparel, with The Source saying it could mean the two moguls have smoothed over any previous disputes. And West made a cameo at Kai Cenat’s Vivet booth, though he’s thrown shade at the streaming star in the past. One day’s chaos, which fueled conversation for about 12 hours, was forgotten by the next, while separately, boldface names seemingly buried their hatchets.
The flip side
Victoria Monét helped launch the latest iteration of Ray-Ban Meta’s Audio AI Glasses during a silent listening session and Q&A that overflowed with positivity. Product note: we sampled one of Monét’s new songs with the glasses and heard the music…through our eyes? The Grammy-winning artist and budding chef handed out her homemade chocolate chip cookies to those assembled—clever synergy for her Sweet Monét’s brand. Also: warm, sugary hug. She hyped her latest release, Frequency of Love, saying the songs represent everything from romantic and platonic love to love for the world and the self. “There’s something in there for anybody with a heart,” she said. She promised that her upcoming tour would spread more of the same vibe. “I want people to feel love and be kind to each other and enjoy each other” and (perfect plug) wear their Ray-Ban Meta glasses for an uninterrupted, hands-free experience. “The energy the audience gives to me, I’m going to give back, and it’s going to be this flow of great energy.”
Opposites attract
ComplexCon has never been a trade show, but it has solidified itself as a vendor’s dream because much of the crowd comes ready to shop. The dichotomy of 2026 was that $150 jerseys, pricey kicks and $500 BAPE hoodies were moving fast. Meanwhile the ThriftCon area—a convention-within-a-convention featuring used and upcycled items and a $10-a-pound clothing booth—also did brisk business. Chalk it up to eco-conscious Gen Z consumers who reject fast fashion and dig the thrill of the hunt. See also: the surge in interest in Vans, those affordable, accessible Jeff Spicoli mainstays. (But in a 2026 twist, there was an exclusive collab with Satoshi Nakamoto that set off a frenzy, temporarily shutting down the Vans booth). Fits at the annual gathering reflected both ends of the monied spectrum, often at the same time, with high-low mashups that prized not just ready cash but individuality.
Related: Complex’s Moksha Fitzgibbons Says Will Beats Skill
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