"When my brand started to pop off in 2019, one of my biggest goals was, ‘How do we get to ComplexCon?’” Jae Tips told Complex.
Two years later, Jae Tips made his ComplexCon debut at the Long Beach Convention Center. This is before the Saucony collabs gained him the reputation as one of the best collaborators in sneakers and he was showing off his purple grills on billboards in Midtown Manhattan. But the people were already taking notice. They flocked to his Savior Worldwide booth to try and score his purple and infrared fitted caps made in collaboration with Hat Club, one of the pivotal pieces of the boom in custom fitteds in the 2020s.
ComplexCon 2026 tickets on sale now.
By 2025, Jae Tips’ presence at ComplexCon wasn’t just as an emerging streetwear designer with a small booth. He was taking over entire sections of the Las Vegas Convention Center floor and creating miniature islands to debut multiple collabs spanning across the industry: Casio G-Shocks, Saucony sneakers, and New Era fitteds. For ComplexCon 2026, its first year in Los Angeles and Jae Tips’ sixth year as a vendor, the Bronx native is trying to up the ante even more.
“I’ve attended every ComplexCon in America. It took a lot of years of manifesting and meeting the right people just to get invited for free,” says Jae Tips. “In the early Long Beach days, we would line up at 5 a.m. to get in. Now, we're trying to get the booth of the year.”
While the exact plans and products are under wraps for the time being, ComplexCon goers can expect some fresh new gear from Savior Worldwide, new collabs, and maybe even a peak at his first Nike sneaker that everyone has been patiently waiting for ever since he announced his partnership with the brand back in March 2026.
The Nike move is a big deal. Before he became a frequent collaborator with Saucony responsible for some of the brand’s biggest releases ever, Jae Tips was just a sneaker lover like the rest of us, working shifts at Foot Locker and frequenting Nike’s defunct-yet-legendary 21 Mercer location. His first major footwear moment was actually a Nike Bespoke Air Force 1 that he designed in 2019. While it wasn’t an official collaboration, it garnered attention from the sneaker community with its vibrant color palette and use of multiple all-over prints, calling cards of his design language to this day. Jae Tips working with the Swoosh in an official capacity is a full circle moment.
“Going to Nike almost feels like Luka [Doncic] going to the Lakers,” says Jae Tips.
Jae Tips has a history with Los Angeles. He’s hosted pop-ups in the city and developed a strong following on the West Coast. While he may be more known for having a strong presence in his hometown of New York, he wants to make sure he’s delivering a proper experience for LA as well. ComplexCon 2026 is his latest opportunity to do just that.
"LA has always been a big supporter of mine, so I always want to make sure I come back and get the brand in front of everyone,” Jae Tips tells Complex.
Six years after making his ComplexCon debut, things are very different. Jae Tips isn’t just manning one of the hundreds of booths inside of a convention center. He is one of the weekend’s main attractions. He understands the expectations. Don’t expect him to fumble.
“From feeling like I was lucky to be in the building to being in a premier space with these big brands, I gotta come correct,” says Jae Tips. “It’s not how you get here, it’s how you stay here.”
