Few streetwear brands have had as consistent of a presence at ComplexCon as VANDYTHEPINK. From his burger-themed booths to experiences inspired by Pokémon, Vandy and his immersive setups have consistently been a highlight of ComplexCon weekend since his first event back in 2021.
For ComplexCon 2026 in Los Angeles, VANDYTHEPINK will be showcasing arguably his cutest collab to date. The Korean designer will be dropping his own Squishmallows. The brand’s characters—Buggy and Fro—have been reimagined as the collectible plushies. Vandy is also the first person outside of the Jazwares design team to reimagine the signature Squishmallows character, Cam.
Ahead of ComplexCon 2026 weekend, we spoke to Vandy about his latest project, how important ComplexCon has been to the growth of his brand, and more.
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You have been a big part of ComplexCon for many years. Why is it so important for you to have a presence every year?
ComplexCon has never been just about selling products for us. I see it as one of the few places where we can really show people what VANDYTHEPINK is about in the most creative and unrestricted way.
Online, you're ultimately showing the brand through photos and videos. At ComplexCon, we can build an entire world around the brand, from the space and products to the graphics, characters, and objects. It's also really important for us to be able to meet the people who support the brand from all over the world in person.
We've continued to grow alongside ComplexCon over the years, so every time we come back, we want to show people a bigger and more evolved version of VANDYTHEPINK.
Your booth is always so immersive and fun to experience. What are you planning this year and how will it set itself apart from previous years?
This year, we’re working with our partner to create something much more interactive and participatory. We want people to feel like they’re stepping into the world we created together, rather than simply visiting a booth.
Guests will be able to customize and print their own T-shirts, as well as create a personalized driver’s license that they can take home as a keepsake from the experience.
Talk about your project with Squishmallows. What made you want to work with them and what did you create?
Squishmallows were already around me before this collaboration even came up. A lot of people on my team have them, so I would always see them around the office. I was really drawn to their texture, shape, and the way every character has such a recognizable personality within that form.
Since VANDYTHEPINK has always had its own characters and universe, I thought it would be really interesting to see what would happen if Buggy and Fro entered the Squishmallows world. Seeing characters that we’ve developed for years reimagined through their signature shape and feel was probably the most exciting part for me.
For the collaboration, we created Buggy and Fro as Squishmallows across different collectible formats, including smaller keychain versions and larger plushies. We also created a special chaser version of Buggy in a color he has never appeared in before, which will be hidden within the larger collectible offering in a giant blindbox.
It was really about bringing two different character worlds together and creating versions of our characters that neither of us could have made independently.
Did working on plushies and collectibles present any new challenges?
It was definitely different from working on apparel, but we've actually made our own plush toys through our inline collections before, so we were able to bring a lot of that experience into this project.
The new challenge was figuring out how to reinterpret our characters through the Squishmallows style and shape. We wanted to keep the identity of our original characters while making sure they still looked and felt like true Squishmallows. Finding that balance was definitely a challenge, but it was also a lot of fun.
Would you like to do more projects like this that go beyond clothing?
Absolutely. I’ve always been interested in seeing how the VANDYTHEPINK world can exist in different forms, not only through clothing.
We’ve created characters, graphics, and ideas over the years that I think can naturally translate into things like toys, food, furniture, home goods, and other unexpected formats. For me, it’s exciting to take something familiar from our world and reinterpret it through a completely different medium.
Streetwear will always be an important part of VANDYTHEPINK, but I like the idea that someone might first come across one of our characters as a toy or see something we created for their home, without even knowing the clothing first. It gives us new ways to tell the same story and continue building the world around the brand.
Do you collect Squishmallows? What do you collect?
I’ve always been a big toy collector, so working with Squishmallows actually made a lot of sense for me. I wouldn’t say I specifically collected Squishmallows as a category, but I already had a few in my collection through some of the character franchises they’ve collaborated with.
I think anyone who follows me or VANDYTHEPINK knows I collect a lot of toys. I’m especially into character toys, vintage pieces, old fast-food toys, and promotional items. I love finding things that have an interesting shape, graphic, or personality, whether they’re rare collectibles or something that originally came with a meal.
So for me, seeing Buggy, Fro, and Cam take on the Squishmallows shape and become actual collectible objects was really exciting. It feels very natural to have something from our own world become part of something I would personally collect.
Will you be selling anything at your booth besides Squishmallows? What are you most excited about this year?
Everything at the booth this year will be part of the Squishmallows collaboration, but we wanted the experience to be much more interactive than just presenting the collection.
One of the things I’m most excited about is giving people the opportunity to customize what they purchase with us. I’ll be there with my team, working alongside everyone to create something original and make each piece feel a little more personal.
In a way, it feels like we’re going back to the roots of how VANDYTHEPINK started. In the early days, there was a lot of hands-on customization, experimenting, and making things ourselves. Bringing that energy to ComplexCon and actually creating together with the people who have supported the brand feels really special. I’m probably most excited about that interaction and seeing what everyone comes up with.
How does it feel to be celebrating the 10th anniversary of ComplexCon in Los Angeles. What are you most excited about for the weekend ahead?
It feels very personal for me because my relationship with ComplexCon started before VANDYTHEPINK ever had a booth there. I experienced it first as a consumer.
In 2021, the ComplexCon team saw potential in VANDYTHEPINK and invited us to participate. This year will now be our sixth ComplexCon. When I think about the 10-year anniversary, it’s pretty crazy that I’ve experienced about half of that journey as a consumer and the other half as a participant.
Being on both sides has allowed me to see how much streetwear and the culture around it have changed over the years. VANDYTHEPINK has evolved a lot during that time too, and ComplexCon has always given us a place to bring whatever world we’re building at that moment to life.
I’m really thankful to the ComplexCon team for believing in us early on and for the mutual support we’ve had over the years. More than anything, I’m super excited to continue doing what I’ve been doing, creating new things and bringing people into my world at ComplexCon. Being able to celebrate their 10th anniversary together makes this year even more special.
