ComplexCon 2026 hit Los Angeles for its 10th anniversary: the creator moments

ComplexCon 2026 took over Los Angeles on Oct 3-4, its first year there and its 10th anniversary, according to Complex’s guide. The show was at the Los Angeles Convention Center, with concerts at Crypto.com Arena.

Complex’s day-one recap confirms the show went ahead on Oct 3. The booth details below come from Complex’s pre-show guide, so they describe what was planned, not a day-by-day tally.

The headliners

Playboi Carti and Hiroshi Fujiwara of Fragment were the artistic directors. Saturday’s music lineup was Ken Carson, HXG and ApolloRed1; per Complex’s recap, Carson headlined and surprised the crowd by bringing out Carti. Sunday was set to have Destroy Lonely and F1lthy, with Carti closing. Carti also planned Mitchell & Ness x NBA and I.AM.GIA drops.

The creator side

• Kai Cenat’s Vivet booth: Complex’s recap called it the place to be on day one, with Savannah James and French Montana spotted browsing.
• Rayasianboy gave Cenat his flowers on stage, saying Cenat saved his life, per Complex.
• AVIA x Walmart: four creators (StayFocusedFrank, Jewel Ham, Eric Lee and Bailey Hikawa) designed custom sneakers, with live Q&As and a design-your-own station.
• Loso was slated to appear at the Foot Locker x Timberland booth Saturday, with a 200-pair boot drop.
• Shaq’s booth: Shareef O’Neal was set to debut his signature shoe.
• Cole Bennett was the subject of a short film at the Birkenstock booth.

The weirder booths

• Cash App’s “Lightning Lake,” where attendees fish for bitcoin.
• A Lexus gachapon system for Japangeles merch.
• A Street Fighter booth with retro arcade machines ahead of the Oct 16 film; Complex’s recap says cast members including Noah Centineo and Callina Liang stopped by.

Why it matters

Brand booths now routinely give the stage to creators. AVIA and Walmart are the clearest example, putting four creators’ designs in front of the crowd, and Cenat’s own Vivet booth drew the celebrity traffic on day one.

A decade of ComplexCon

ComplexCon’s own timeline page, titled “A Decade of ComplexCon,” says the festival was established in Long Beach in 2016 and now lists the 2026 edition in Los Angeles on Oct 3 and 4.

The concerts were at Crypto.com Arena, 1111 S. Figueroa St., a short walk from the convention center.

Food and thrift

Complex’s Family Style Food Festival included Henry’s Pizza, Marathon Burger, Tacos Royal and Handles Coffee x VandyThePink, and ThriftCon LA filled an entire hall with vintage dealers. A skate pro-am called Bank Breakers offered $10K in prizes.