Over the weekend, we tackled the inaugural COMPLEXCON head on. Hosted about thirty minutes outside of Los Angeles at the Long Beach Convention Center, the halls were buzzing with a host of sartorially conscious While most attendees waited in 3+ hour-long lines to cop some Anti Social Social Club, A Bathing Ape, or the chance to scoop up some exclusive Nike AF-1s, we decided to avoid the lines and scope out what else the Con had to offer. There was quite a bit of California love, so we decided to share a close look at our top 5 favorite Calfornia-based vendors on display this weekend.
YESTERDAYS
Love a good pin? Yesterdays is your answer. They were hands down selling the best crop of pins this weekend. Based out of Santa Ana, about 40 miles south of Los Angeles, you may have seen some of their pins stocked at various comic book retailers Stateside. They work with some incredible artists to create some fantastic pins for any occasion. Fans of The Walking Dead can grab an incredibly detailed pin of Lucille or a Black-Flag-inspired pin of Negan beating the crap out of a zombie. Yesterdays’ pins aren’t too large or chunky, and most impressively they never compromise the size to get in the right detail.
Head over to Yesterdays official site to broaden your growing pin collection.
PROJECT BLITZ
Project Blitz is a sneakerhead’s paradise: the West Coast answer to Flight Club, they offer an impressive inventory of rare and coveted kicks. They unloaded a few hundred shoes from their vault for an impressive installation with walls of sneakers in mint condition. Boasting over 4,000 of rare sneakers in their inventory, if you’re looking for a particular shoe or hot piece of streetwear, and willing to shell out for the resale value, Project Blitz has got you covered.
Hit up Project Blitz online to see what they’ve got stocked in their vault.
JASON MARKK
With great shoes come great responsibility. Jason Markk delivers a high-quality formula to keep all your kicks in mint condition. No one shoe cleaning method fits all, so they’ve got the low down on all the right tools to keep your collection looking its best. With the essential starter kit priced at $16 USD, which includes basic brushes and a bottle of premium shoe cleaner, you won’t break the bank either. Head over to Jason Markk’s official site to learn more.
FIVE FOUR CLUB
Five Four Club is a menswear subscription service. For $60 USD per month, they will ship three items of clothing every month, along with tips on how to wear your new clothes. It’s the perfect solution for anyone who wants to beef up their closet with some smart, versatile pieces or people who have a difficult time dressing themselves (particularly those with a 9-5 job dress ‘uniform’). Five Four has collaborated with United Arrows & Sons creative director Motofumi Kogi for a Poggy the Man capsule collection, designer Robert Gellar (which includes the kick ass bomber jacket pictured above), and extensive collaborations with designer Mark McNairy.
Check out everything Five Four Club has to offer on their official site.
MAEKEN
MAEKAN was created for conscious consumers. Founded by former creative director of Hypebeast Alex Maeland and former Hypebeast editor Eugene Kan, both came together to create a unique experience to understand and appreciate the cultures we encounter. Part podcast, part high-quality photography, MAEKAN uses an audio-visual format to broadcast “stories for the curious” about the brands and creatives they love. On site at COMPLEXCON, attendees got a taste of the experience with stories on Yardbird’s famous fried chicken, and details on the craftsmanship behind RONE footwear.
The site is projected to launch around February 2017, but head over to MAEKEN to request early access.