Streetwear shoppers also lined up for wagyu smash burgers this weekend, as ComplexCon's 10th anniversary edition folded a sprawling food festival into its Los Angeles Convention Center floor. Marathon Burger, the burger concept tied to Nipsey Hussle's Marathon legacy, drew some of the weekend's longest lines, while vendors from Majordomo to Tacos Royale served alongside streetwear drops and headlining concerts.
A Decade of ComplexCon Lands in Downtown L.A.
ComplexCon celebrated its 10th year on Oct. 3 and 4 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, according to the Los Angeles Times. The two-day event featured streetwear exhibitions and performances headlined by Playboi Carti and Ken Carson, per the same account, with Destroy Lonely also among the featured performers. A news release distributed via PR Newswire described the Los Angeles debut as bringing together more than 300 brands and restaurants for a weekend of product releases, immersive experiences, music performances and food.
Inside the convention center, nearly two dozen L.A. food vendors served food as part of the Family Style Food Festival, the Los Angeles Times reported. Family Style Food Festival was founded in 2019 by Miles Canares along with The Hundreds, and Complex acquired the festival in 2024. The festival, as the Times put it, merges viral food concepts with street fashion and culture — a mission that organizer Canares has said relies on big-name performers to bring foot traffic to up-and-coming brands such as RC Cafe, with the festival's platform giving those pop-ups exposure they might not otherwise get.
Longest Lines Went to a Nipsey Hussle Tribute Burger
Marathon Burger, which serves wagyu smash burgers, wings, fries and shakes as an extension of Nipsey Hussle's Marathon legacy according to the ComplexCon Marketplace, pulled some of the weekend's longest lines. Ibrahima Thiam attended ComplexCon on Oct. 4 at the Los Angeles Convention Center with his two young sons, waiting with them for a taste of Marathon Burger, per the Los Angeles Times. Thiam said the food and streetwear were a perfect match at ComplexCon, the paper reported.
From Short Rib Ssäm to an Excavator Dig for Prizes
The food lineup leaned on established restaurant names alongside playful pop-up concepts. Majordomo served smoked short rib ssäm in gem lettuce cups, while Pizzeria Sei offered omakase-style slices created with Fragment Design, according to the Times. Tacos Royale served charcoal-fired carne asada tacos and burritos with all-you-can-eat guacamole, and House of Wings brought strawberry hot honey wings to the floor.
RC Cafe stood out as an experiential car cafe, featuring an interactive booth where attendees could dig for prizes using machine-operated excavator and dump truck toys, per the Los Angeles Times. The cafe served cinnamon toast-flavored ice cream and fizzy grape refreshers. RC Cafe partner Duong Nguyen designed typography for the cafe as well as for ComplexCon performers, the paper reported.
Coffee and Cornbread Join the Collab Circuit
Coffee vendors got in on the mashup energy too. Handles Coffee offered strawberry matcha lattes and merged with artist VandyThePink for the weekend, according to the Times. Big Baby's Cornbread served sweet potato-flavored cornbread, while Hilltop Coffee and Kitchen offered sweet potato-flavored lattes, the paper reported.
A Food Hall Built for Hard-to-Book Restaurants
Beyond the novelty pairings, the food hall format itself granted access to restaurants that are typically difficult to book, per the Los Angeles Times. That dynamic reflects a broader pattern Canares has tapped before: his earlier projects included K-Town Night Market and The Eat Show, both of which fed into ComplexCon's food programming ahead of Family Style Fest's launch, according to Foodbeast. Family Style Food Festival has previously featured restaurants including Evan Funke, Majordomo, Shake Shack, Community Goods Cafe, Broad Street Oyster and Howlin Rays, per a statement carried by PR Newswire announcing Complex's acquisition of the festival.
The collision of food and fashion at ComplexCon fits a pattern that has intensified in recent years, according to the Los Angeles Times, which noted that national brands have collaborated for years — Telfar and White Castle, David Chang and Nike — but that the trend has reached a fever pitch over the last five years. The same outlet also pointed to The Hundreds' own Family Style Fest, which links local restaurants with major design brands for one-day-only collaborative merchandise and dishes.
