48 Hours In Vegas: The Ultimate ComplexCon Recap

As a heel-wearing hottie who is a far-cry from a self-proclaimed “sneakerhead,” I didn’t know how I was going to work my way around my first ComplexCon — a sprawling music, art, and fashion conference housed this year in Las Vegas’ 1 million square foot convention center. The event, which was dubbed the “Streetwear Disneyland” was launched in 2016 in Long Beach, California, and has since grown into a cultural epicenter in a little over ten years, prized by attendees for the exclusive sneaker drops, close-access to hip-hop stars via live interviews, epic live performances, and overall, good vibes. Even without a soul-level sneaker obsession, I found myself quickly caught up in the rapture of the hype beast. The conference boasts a behemoth assortment of entertainment and is a candy-store rush for dopamine addicts like me who love to be roused by eclectic environments. 
Day 1, I caught rappers Clipse at the Chase Freedom Cashback basketball courts in conversation with Complex host, Speedy Morman (Glorilla once told him he had “burtiful” teeth). The sibling-duo, fresh off their iconic summer run following the release of their fourth studio album, Let God Sort ‘Em Out, dished to the crowd about the beauty and challenges of working with family, how they balance money and humility, and their insight into the future of hip-hop.

Malice and Pusha-T also surprised fans with an exclusive Adidas Jellyfish sneaker in a new, bold, blue colorway, which makes ComplexCon the perfect gifting-opportunity if you’re looking to cop buzzy releases for the sneaker aficionado in your life. Speaking of sneakers, I spoke with legendary Salehe Bembury, who pushed the envelope of innovative footwear design during his time working with Yeezy, at the booth for his label, Spunge. He told HelloBeautiful that his latest line is “loosely inspired” by the mossy-hiking trails of California and his time in nature camping. The booth had on display his latest kicks, as well as some of his never-before-seen Croc wear and the latest in 3D shoe-printing.

Saturday closed out with the highly-anticipated return of Verzuz, the Timberland and Swizz Beatz artist-showdown that took off during COVID pandemic isolation. This year’s head-to-head was all about New Orleans, baby, with No Limit Records facing off with Cash Money Records with a surprise performance from Snoop Dogg.

Day 2, kicked off with merch drops from Jordan Brand, Adidas X Clips, and New Era headwear that had festival lines stretching around Vegas street corners. I dropped into some immersive conference-floor activations, including a strip-club pop-up with an actual midnight-ballerina performing, and a Snoop Dog X Dre “Gin and Juice” happy-hour featuring a baby-blue ‘59 low-rider impaler photo-booth moment. 

Whether you’re a sneaker-head or not, ComplexCon’s magic comes in its embrace of artistic expression without guard-rails. So even if you don’t leave the show with the latest shoe-drop, you will definitely walk away inspired.