People from all over the world gathered this month to see the hype new trends and artists at ComplexCon, a two-day art, music and streetwear convention in Long Beach, California. This year, at the annual event’s fourth outing, Kid Cudi led the way as the first night’s music headliner with guest appearances from Timothée Chalamet and Pusha T. With no shortage of influencers and celebrities appearing throughout the day, attendees casually ran into stars like Pharrell Williams, LL Cool J and Lil Yachty.
In a nutshell, ComplexCon embodies the ever-changing, mixed landscape of pop culture and hip-hop. Big-box brands like Billionaire Boys Club, Reebok and Asics Tigers made their presence known with fully interactive booths filled with exclusive merch.
But what we loved the best were the new arrivals, the booths that focused on the environmental aspects versus fast fashion and hyped releases. Esper, the 25-year-old environmental advocate behind Come Back as a Flower, shared with us how using less water when dying garments and scaling to a handmade process helps. Esper’s business cards can even be planted to grow into flowers. Brenda Equihua of Equihua, which is rooted in Chicanx culture, reminded us how doing little things can meaningfully add up. There is little to no wasted material in her design process. When designing a piece, she spends time to create from the remaining fabrics and textiles of larger garments. She even has a Lady of Guadalupe T-shirt made from recycled bottles.
Here is every cool thing we saw at ComplexCon.
