The annual Complexcon is looking a little different this year. Due to COVID 19 restrictions the culture juggernaut had to move their 3 day convention to a new virtual marketplace called “Complexland”.
Usually the con is filled with panels, booths, and product drops from some of the industries biggest creatives and personalities. All that is still here in “Complexland”, but on a smaller scale. I like the aspect that now anyone can basically enjoy the con but due to that, the drops this year just aren’t hitting besides a few.
By far the best drop of the entire con was the “BBC/Ice cream X Louis De Guzman” collab. That rug and sculptures are must haves, the sculpture captures both the brand and Louis’s styles perfectly blended.
Kristopher Kites takes his first crack at an RSVP Gallery piece as their resident freshman creative is a huge moment for Kites. It would have been nice to see him do something bigger than a shirt but I have my “13 Projects Rug” to hold me over until my “Gigantor” chain.
The Takashi Murakami X Perrier is just a fun collab. Pretty much all the merch and water is free m, making it a very hard drop to come by, but with restocks constantly you might be able to grab a bottle. This is very similar to Virgil Abloh’s collab with Evian water company.
Most of the panels seemed lame, expect the “Sneaker Of The Year” panel but that’s about it. I am excited about the new “Sneaker Of The Year” book that Complex released.
The Matt Gondek book “American Terror” is a release I am looking forward to picking up after the con. Filled with tons on Gondek’s artwork this one is made for your coffee table.
Complex can definitely build on the virtual con format in the future, allowing people from everywhere not just the venue able to enjoy the con. Hopefully in the future they can beef up some of the drops and add more interesting panels, I would definitely go back to “Complexland”.