Photos & Words by Asha Moné

"Am I too complex for Complex Con?" as Ye would say.

Someone make a dress shirt. I'm begging you.

In a world where t-shirts are king and instead of learning how to code Myspace backgrounds, everyone is cooking the planet one AI graphic design at a time, the apocalyptic fashion has skipped over the luminosity of Idiocracy and catapulted us right into Alien Romulus chicness.

"Am I too complex for Complex con?" I ask myself every year.

No. I've not aged out of the culture, but I know I'm bored, as we all are.

Give us something with some pizzazz and some RIZZ. A snap crackle pop, if you will.

Complex Con is to culture consumers what Agenda was to MAGIC for fashion buyers. While the skin tones and racial characteristics of Hip-Hop are changing, the "For Us, Buy Us" motto we once knew, created by pioneering brands like FUBU and Billionaire Boys Club, has been shifted to proximity and access.

Pharrell said it best, "You can do it too." But I don't think he meant you should just because you can.

This is just a passage of nature for the Mr. Me Too's of the world, dressing like Cam'ron and Kriss Kross, disguised as Play Boi Carti. It is Nature vs Nurture. You have it, so I want it. It's trending, so it's cool. It's a cycle created by online shopping and geographical culture trends erasing due to the internet. You don't have a personal style; you buy it. The price tag makes you stylish.

I, a Day's Before Rodeo fan, a quiet rager down to get into the moshpit with the best of them when "Mamacita" blasts through the speakers, was just there due to work obligations. Even the free trip wasn't enough to persuade me to wait in lines all day to get merch most of you don't care about and will put on Grailed before the year ends.

I'll pay that extra $100 for my sanity.

Everyone is playing chess. This game is played because everyone needs something to do when there is nothing to do. Complex Con is "our" third space. It is a place where you get your fit picks, take a photo of a streamer or rapper, and make a friend or two in the hour-long line you are standing in. It's a means of accessibility for people who live in "middle America and suburbs." And that's ok.

But don't get me wrong, with the culture's commercialization, some cool brands are still shining like diamonds in the rough. Vandythepink, Uuuntiled, Murakami, ssstuff, Echo Unlimited, and my new favorite, Hellstar, are in their lane. They make me excited for the future of streetwear.

Let's see how it all pans out.

Opium boys, for the win. Just my quick thoughts and favorite drops from Complex's first convention in Las Vegas.